Parasite Pony II
Doctor Whooves walks around Ponyville and saw Fluttershy tending to her animals and overheard her,
"Good boy, now go on and share your food with the others." Fluttershy said, Doctor Whooves looks and saw she had a new raccoon, she was showing it what the rules at her cottage were. Doctor Whooves walks around more and hears laughing and cheering, he saw foals doing target practice with a bow and arrow, he saw Marine was there, and Equality was watching him, he keeps walking forward and saw Raging Tornado fly by, she was leaving, but Doctor Whooves continued to his home.
Doctor Whooves' patient was recommended to him by Shining Armor, he got reports on her and was said to have had a mental meltdown, and would break down into babbling and crying when talking about certain parts of what happened to her and her unit when they were sent into an unexplored forest to map the area. Doctor Whooves arrives home and saw the papers on his desk that detailed what the animals in the nearby area said when Fluttershy went to go ask them what happened, he hears walking and sees his patient, it was a female earth pony, she had a pale red coat, long straight light pink mane and tail, pink eyes, and her cutie mark was a brown wooden bow and an arrow with a black tip, a light tan shaft, black fletchings, and a black nock, she was shorter than the average mare and was skinny, she had almost no muscle on her body, she also had dark red eye shadow on, and black mascara, she seemed normal so far, and she sat across from him,
"Good morning, Doctor Whooves." the mare said,
"Good morning." Doctor Whooves replied, he looks at her and she seemed a little upset already, but he went on,
"State your name and occupation." Doctor Whooves said,
"Archer, deputy captain of the royal guard, my rank is just below Captain Shining Armor's rank." the mare replied,
"Wait, I remember hearing about you, one of my previous patients mentioned you." Doctor Whooves said,
"Who?" Archer asked,
"Gunslinger." Doctor Whooves replied, Archer becomes surprised but pulls herself together,
"I'm his younger sister." Archer said,
"I see, well, let's get started, I got my report on you here, and remember, if you feel uncomfortable, you're welcome to stop anytime." Doctor Whooves replied, Archer nodded while almost crying,
"Thank you." Archer said,
"Still, I imagined you being as muscular as your brother." Doctor Whooves said,
"I tried, I really did, it's not fair." Archer replied, Doctor Whooves took note of what she just said,
"Well, go on and start." Doctor Whooves said, and he opens his report while Archer begins her tale.
Archer was born into an average family and was the youngest child, Gunslinger was older than her by six years, their father was Shooter, and their mother was Quiver, Shooter had a dark purple coat, short pale purple mane and tail, purple eyes, and his cutie mark was a light tan crossbow, Quiver had a light purple coat, long dark purple mane and tail, purple eyes, and her cutie mark was a brown quiver full of arrows.
Archer was four years old and walked to her ten year old brother, who was sitting on a couch and reading a book,
"Big brother." Archer said, Gunslinger looked at her,
"What are you reading?" Archer asked,
"A math book." Gunslinger replied,
"On what?" Archer asked,
"Multiplication." Gunslinger replied,
"What kind of multiplication problems?" Archer asked,
"Basic." Gunslinger replied, Archer frowned,
"Come on, big brother, talk to me, I'm bored." Archer said,
"I am." Gunslinger replied, Archer began to grumble and growl while pulling her own mane,
"I wanna have an actual conversation, big brother, I'm tired of these one or two word responses." Archer said, Gunslinger just looked at her stoically,
"Please, big brother?" Archer asked, Gunslinger gets off the couch and walks to her, he shows her the math book and explains the problems. Archer tries to listen, but the math bored her and she blocked out most of the things Gunslinger said,
"ARCHER!!" Shooter yelled, Archer was startled and jumped up while he and Quiver walked to them,
"Gunslinger is studying, stop interrupting." Quiver said,
"But..." Archer said,
"QUIET!!" Shooter yelled, Archer was silent with fear,
"You should know better, why are you reading with your brother?" Quiver asked,
"I... wanted to study with him." Archer replied while scared,
"No, you are too stupid to understand any of it, go to your room, you're grounded, and no dinner." Quiver said, Archer was nearly crying,
"Go now, Archer, or I'll get the belt." Shooter said, Archer stood there in fear,
"GO!!" Quiver yelled, Archer jumps back and runs to her room while crying.
"Did that happen often?" Doctor Whooves asked,
"Almost every day." Archer replied tearfully, Doctor Whooves' eyes widened,
"Go on, tell me what else was common in your childhood home." Doctor Whooves said, and Archer continued while nearly in tears.
Shooter, Quiver, Gunslinger, and Archer were about to take a family photo, Shooter, Quiver, and Archer were smiling while Gunslinger had an expressionless face, Shooter and Quiver stop smiling and see Archer,
"No! Out of the photo!" Quiver said as she shoved Archer, she exclaimed with shock,
"You heard her, get out." Shooter said as he shoved her out as well, they shove her out of the photo with enough force to knock her down, she looks on with shock and Shooter and Quiver smile while Gunslinger did not, the camera goes off and the picture was taken,
"Hang up the picture with the rest, Archer." Shooter said, and they leave. Archer puts the picture in a brown wooden frame and hangs it up, every single family photo in the house was a picture of Shooter, Quiver, and Gunslinger, Archer was never allowed in the photos, she cried every time she looked.
"How often did that happen?" Doctor Whooves asked,
"Every time we took a photo." Archer replied tearfully,
"I'm sorry, go on, Archer." Doctor Whooves said, and she does, Doctor Whooves was surprised by how different Archer was from Gunslinger, she did a lot of head and hoof gestures while she spoke while Gunslinger did none, but he continues listening to Archer.
Archer was in school and had no friends, and she was constantly bullied by her classmates and belittled by her teachers, who often called her the dumbest student in the class, and the students present often would not let her join in on games during recess, steal her lunch, steal her school supplies, which sometimes made her fail an assignment, and get punished by the teacher, Archer also sometimes got punished with extra work for not showing her work on math work because she did not know how to, either because she was absent that day from school, or her parents would not show her, Archer would sometimes also not be allowed to go to lunch, and given extra work on the weekends for falling behind.
Archer was speechless with her mouth open and tears rolling down her face,
"Archer." Doctor Whooves said, she was startled and jumped,
"Are you alright?" Doctor Whooves asked, Archer wiped the tears away,
"Sorry, I had a really bad time growing up as a filly." Archer said,
"Would you like to end the session early?" Doctor Whooves asked,
"No." Archer replied,
"Then pull yourself together." Doctor Whooves said calmly, and Archer did,
"Okay, I'm ready." Archer said,
"Go on, then." Doctor Whooves replied, and Archer continues her tale.
Archer did terrible in PE class and could not keep up with the class, but she saw Gunslinger exercising at home, he was doing push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, chin-ups, weight lifting with dumbbells and barbells, and stretching, Gunslinger also clapped three times while in the air from a push-up before putting his front legs back on the floor,
"Gunslinger." Archer said as she trotted to him, he looks to his left and sees her coming,
"Did you get in shape with those exercises?" Archer asked, Gunslinger nods,
"How long did it take you?" Archer asked,
"Four years." Gunslinger replied,
"Can I try?" Archer asked, Gunslinger nods, and Archer joined him.
Archer was grumbling and growling while she remembered training with her brother,
"Is everything alright?" Doctor Whooves asked,
"No! Nothing's alright!" Archer replied angrily,
"What is the matter?" Doctor Whooves asked,
"I did the training for exactly four years, all of the hard exercising, the strict diet, and the joint aching stretches for four years, and a diet of only hay, fruits, vegetables, and water, I hate hay, fruits, vegetables, and water! I exercised and dieted every day, and I didn't get the same results as my brother. It's not fair!" Archer replied angrily,
"How old were you when you started?" Doctor Whooves asked,
"Six." Archer replied,
"Was that all you did to get into shape?" Doctor Whooves asked,
"No, Gunslinger's outside training and endurance training were insane." Archer replied,
"Can you go into detail? And please try to remain calm." Doctor Whooves said, and Archer continues.
Archer did the training with Gunslinger and she struggled with everything, but Gunslinger would correct her body's position if it was wrong, she tries while Gunslinger stood by and watched her train and exercise. Gunslinger was running around outside and jumped up, he grabbed tree branches with his front hoofs, swung in a circle, let go, go through the air, and grab onto the next branch, Archer tried but she could not jump high enough and fell onto the ground every time. Gunslinger did somersaults and back flips outside and Archer tried, but she fell onto the ground every time, hurting herself a few times, but Gunslinger ran and got her out of the hurting position before she screamed in pain and alerted Shooter and Quiver. Gunslinger's endurance test involved his friends throwing rocks and baseballs at him, often at his head, and Gunslinger would not flinch or feel any pain, he walked away and it was Archer's turn, but whenever she was hit, she flew back and screamed in pain whenever the rocks or baseballs hit her, especially if it hit her in the head or her eyes, she cried sometimes as well.
Archer had to force herself to eat hay, apples, oranges, lettuces, celery, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, boiled potatoes, and drink water, she hated the taste of all of them, she liked sweet stuff, especially candy. Shooter, Quiver, and Gunslinger would have dinner and Archer was not allowed at the table,
"Can I have some?" Archer asked,
"You know the rules! You can have whatever's left!" Shooter replied angrily, and they ate while Archer had to watch while hungry, she would eat the leftovers when they left, but sometimes, there were no leftovers, so Archer had to go to bed with no dinner and cried on those nights, one thing that made her really sad was that Gunslinger got to sleep on a big and comfortable mattress, while Archer had to lay down on the hard wooden floor.
Four years pass and Archer exercised and dieted every day, she was exhausted in PE class and did worse, the last day for Archer doing Gunslinger's training and diet passed and Archer tried to do the things Gunslinger could do, but she could not, she even less physical energy, anything physical was harder for her to do, she was more hungry than before, and her body broke down her muscles in order to give her the energy she needed to do Gunslinger's training. Archer grumbled and exclaimed with anger, and soon screamed with anger and threw things around outside,
"IT'S NOT FAIR!! WHY DOES MY BROTHER GET INTO SHAPE AFTER A HARD TRAINING AND DIET REGIME FOR FOUR YEARS AND I DON'T?! IT'S NOT FAIR!!" Archer yelled angrily, she soon fell onto the ground and cried while pounding her legs on the ground,
"It's not fair." Archer said tearfully, and she bawled her eyes out all afternoon.
"Hold on, are you saying that Gunslinger's endurance and being able to jump from one house's roof to another is not made up?" Doctor Whooves asked,
"No." Archer replied,
"I thought he was lying when he said that." Doctor Whooves said,
"No, he can really do that." Archer replied,
"What about him not feeling any pain or flinching from a rock thrown to his head? That's not exaggeration?" Doctor Whooves asked,
"No, he really is that durable." Archer replied,
"Can I see your front legs?" Doctor Whooves asked, and Archer did, he saw Archer's front legs were skinny with nearly no muscle, he can see how Gunslinger's training regime has eaten away her muscles,
"Okay, that's enough, continue on." Doctor Whooves said, and Archer continues while Doctor Whooves looked at his report on her, he saw it started at when she was in the woods with her unit, he listens to Archer.
Archer was friendless in school and did terrible in school, she was just barely literate because Shooter and Quiver refused to teach her, and Gunslinger taught her in secret, but it was still not much, she looks and sees Gunslinger have top grades on every assignment and project he did, he also had to build models of technology and make them work. One day, school ended and Gunslinger was outside with Shooter and Quiver, they look at his report card and saw he had a perfect grade on everything,
"Perfect as always, good job, Gunslinger." Shooter said, Archer ran to them and showed them she had passing grades in school for the first time, she smiled as she showed them, but Quiver slaps the paper out of Archer's front hoofs with her front left hoof, shocking her and saw Quiver had an angry face,
"Nopony cares what you got." Shooter said, Archer had a distraught face,
"Don't give us that look, do your homework." Quiver said, and she entered the house. Archer had the same problems every day and often saw Gunslinger hanging out outside with five friends, while she had none, she went outside to them one day,
"Big brother." Archer said as she ran to them, Gunslinger and his five friends look at her,
"Can I come with you?" Archer asked,
"We're not going anywhere." Gunslinger replied,
"Wait, you're not?" Archer asked, Gunslinger shook his head,
"What did you think we were doing?" Gunslinger asked,
"Go camping." Archer replied,
"Where are your friends?" a unicorn asked,
"Parents don't allow her to have friends." Gunslinger replied, the five colts look on with shock,
"Can I be your friends?" Archer asked,
"Well... sure." a second unicorn replied, Archer becomes excited,
"I'm Templar, that's Bushido, this is Spartan, that's Gladiator, and that's Zulu." the second unicorn said,
"I'm Archer." Archer replied with a smile,
"Nice to meet you, Archer, but it's getting late, and we have to head home, we'll be looking forward to seeing you again." Templar said,
"Okay, bye." Archer replied happily, and Templar, Bushido, Gladiator, Spartan, and Zulu head home. Archer waited every day for the five to come, but they never did, she soon screamed with rage afterwards. A few years pass and Gunslinger was now a teenager, Shooter and Quiver would still not allow Archer at the table for their meals, and had to have leftovers, so Gunslinger ate and drank no more than his body required so Archer could have something, and Archer enjoyed eating and drinking, every time she ate or something, she craved to have more of it.
A few years pass and Gunslinger begins receiving bits from Shooter and Quiver so he can go to college, she went to Shooter and Quiver about it,
"What about me receiving bits?" Archer asked,
"Make your own money." Quiver replied, and Archer left without questioning them. Archer looks for a job and saw the only place hiring was the animal shelter near the home, she goes there begins working there, she saw the many animals there and they all begin looking at Archer, she instantly liked them,
"Aw, you all are so cute." Archer said as she got on her knees and looked at them,
"Hey, stop looking and get to work, start feeding them." a female unicorn said, and Archer saw each food was labeled for each animal to eat, Archer also had to give them water, clean up their waste, play with the young, and take them outside for them to get their exercise.
Archer was grumbling and growling while she spoke about her job,
"Is something the matter?" Doctor Whooves asked,
"Sorry, that boss of mine makes me so mad! I'm working and taking care of them, and she was just sitting around and eating doughnuts! She did nothing to help the animals, she only hired me because she didn't want to take care of them on her own!" Archer said angrily,
"Did you have any coworkers?" Doctor Whooves asked,
"No." Archer replied while concealing her anger,
"Is there anything in particular that angers you?" Doctor Whooves asked,
"She never shared a doughnut with me! I love doughnuts. She also kept the animal shelter filthy, she did that to give me more work, and I would often fall asleep in class, she gave me no days off, and she never gave me a raise. Whenever a health inspector came and said the place is great and the conditions are perfect, she'd get all the credit, I did all the work!" Archer replied while raising her voice a little,
"There, there, Archer, let it all out." Doctor Whooves said, Archer sighs,
"Anyway..." Archer said, and she continues.
Archer was home one day and saw the bits she made from work were missing, she searches frantically and saw her bits were nowhere to be found, she runs out of the bedroom and looks around, she saw Shooter, Quiver, and Gunslinger together, and a pile of bits with them,
"Here you go, Gunslinger, your money for college, and thanks to Archer, we know have another source of income, we'll be using your sister's money to pay off your supplies for college." Quiver said, and they give to him while Archer gasped, she runs to them,
"GIVE IT BACK!!" Archer yelled as she ran after to her parents, she tugs on Quiver's front left hoof,
"GIVE BACK MY BITS!!" Archer yelled, but Shooter pulls her off of Quiver, takes her to the next room, and begins punching her in the head and back with his front hoofs as hard as he could, Archer screamed since each hit bashed her head against the wooden floor and she sometimes heard her bones crunch from a few hits, Shooter threw her away from himself when he was done, he walked back to Quiver while Archer cried from the pain,
"Gunslinger, take that idiot to the room, and eat all of your dinner tonight, leave nothing for her." Shooter said, and Gunslinger took her to the bedroom, he examined her wounds and tried his best to nurse her back to health. A few weeks pass and Archer made the amount of bits Shooter and Quiver took from her, she hid the bits this time, she was inspired by the other girls in the school to start buying cosmetics and makeup, she tried them and messed up the first few times, but she put facial powder, lipstick, eye shadow, eyeliner, fake eyebrows, mascara, facial moisturizer, and facial cleansers, Archer looked at herself in the mirror and thought she was the most beautiful girl in the world, she also used her bits to buy candy.
Archer was smiling and happy as she talked about her makeup,
"What kind of candy did you buy, Archer?" Doctor Whooves asked,
"Bubblegum." Archer replied,
"What is your favorite flavor?" Doctor Whooves asked,
"Strawberry." Archer replied,
"Well, as much I want to talk about this as well, we have to move on, we don't have an unlimited amount of time." Doctor Whooves said,
"Okay." Archer replied, and she continued talking about herself.
Archer saw the other girls at school also trying on fancy outfits and dresses, Archer overheard where they got them and went to the stores when she had enough money to buy them, she thought they were beautiful when she tried them on at home, and she became interested in fashion, but she made sure to hide them so Shooter and Quiver do not discover them.
Archer went to work at the animal shelter one day and saw the animals were starving and injured, along with the entire shelter being filthy, she was shocked and went to go confront her boss,
"Excuse me!" Archer said, her boss looks at her,
"What?" Archer's boss asked,
"The shelter's filthy again! And the animals are hungry and hurt!" Archer replied,
"Well, get to it." Archer's boss said,
"Isn't that your job?!" Archer asked angrily,
"I'm not touching those filthy things." Archer's boss replied,
"Then why are you working here?" Archer asked,
"Simple, I have others do the work, and I don't have to lift a hoof, I am the one who opened the shelter in the first place." Archer's boss replied, Archer was disgusted,
"That's it, I quit." Archer said,
"No, you're not, I'll call the royal guards if you do, who do you think is going to get arrested and in trouble when they investigate?" Archer's boss asked, Archer looked at her with shock while her boss smiled,
"Well, get back to work." Archer's boss said, and Archer almost began to cry while she worked and her boss smiled.
Archer was on the verge of tears in Doctor Whooves' office,
"There, there, Archer, it's okay, you're not there anymore, let's move on to the next part of your life." Doctor Whooves said, Archer was still on the verge of tears and did not respond, so Doctor Whooves touched her shoulders to snap back into the present,
"It's okay, Archer, you're not there anymore, let's continue." Doctor Whooves said, Archer nods and she continues.
Archer was in school and just barely passing, she saw posters that was talking about becoming an officer in the royal guard, she decided to apply so she could prove to her family that she is just as capable of achieving something like Gunslinger,
"Gunslinger, I'm going to one up you this time." Archer said to herself as she walked away.
Archer arrives home and she saw Shooter and Quiver teaching Gunslinger how to use the bow and arrow,
"Very good, Gunslinger, you're already improving for a first timer." Shooter said,
"At this rate, you'll be a master archer." Quiver said, and Gunslinger continued shooting the arrows, Archer became excited and trotted to them,
"I wanna try!" Archer said,
"Go away, you brat." Quiver said,
"Gunslinger, shoot an arrow at her." Shooter said, and he shot one right beside her right ear, she yelped with shock,
"No, Gunslinger, not by her, right into her, shoot an arrow into her knee." Shooter said, Archer ran into the house screaming with fear before Gunslinger could fire. Archer laid on the floor and looked out the window, she saw the bow and arrows were left there, she still wanted to try it, so she heads out and tries using the bow and arrow.
Archer heads outside and begins firing the bow and arrows, she had terrible accuracy, and her posture was poor, she also had trouble getting the arrow on the string and firing, she acted on her own and she could not aim properly,
"HEY!! DON'T TOUCH THAT!!" Quiver yelled, she was startled and looked to her right, she saw Shooter and Quiver were home from shopping, they run to her and they grab her and bring her into the house. Shooter begins beating her while Quiver whipped her back with a belt, she screamed from the pain,
"Don't touch the family heirloom, that is an expensive antique, and you'll break it." Quiver said, the two continue hitting her and Archer was soon crying from the pain and bleeding,
"Stay away from the bow, or I'll fire the arrows at you." Shooter said, and he and Quiver walked away while Archer was on the floor and crying.
Archer laid on the floor one day after finishing school, work, and her homework, she hears walking looks to her right, she saw Gunslinger come with the bow and arrows, he puts it on the floor and pushes it forward with his muzzle,
"Really, Gunslinger?" Archer asked, Gunslinger nods, Archer smiled and hugged him,
"Thank you, big brother." Archer said, he hugged her back with his front left hoof, and they went outside. Archer continues shooting with the bow and arrow while Gunslinger corrected her posture and showed her how to pull the string back properly, Archer soon starts firing and almost every arrow hit the center of the targets,
"I did it! I hit it, Gunslinger!" Archer said happily, Gunslinger places his front left hoof on his lips, Archer became embarrassed, she nodded while smiling and continued practicing with the bow and arrow, she used it whenever only she and Gunslinger were home and Shooter and Quiver were at work or out shopping.
A few weeks pass and Gunslinger was getting ready to leave, Shooter and Quiver kiss him on the forehead, he walked out of sight and Archer was there waiting for him, the two hug one another,
"Good luck in college, Gunslinger." Archer said, and he walked away while Archer smiled, she saw Templar, Spartan, Gladiator, Zulu, and Bushido waiting for him, and they leave.
"How did you feel about your brother going to college?" Doctor Whooves asked,
"I was happy for him, it's been over four years, so he should be done by now, I am so happy for my big brother, going out to get himself a good future." Archer said, almost crying tears of joy, Doctor Whooves could not help but feel bad for her since she clearly had no idea what Gunslinger was really doing,
"Well, go on, Archer." Doctor Whooves said, and she did.
Archer was about to finish school, she went through high school with no friends because she was afraid to speak up and get bullied again, she was at work and put down a paper saying she was quitting,
"You know the rules, you have to work here or I'll call the royal guards and have you arrested for poor treatment of the animals." Archer's boss said,
"That's not why, my parents are moving, I have to go with them." Archer replied, her boss calmed down,
"Oh, so you guys are going away." Archer's boss said, Archer nod,
"Leave, I'll just find somepony else." Archer's boss said, and Archer left the animal shelter, she looked back and felt bad for the animals, but she headed home.
Archer finished school and went to go see her parents,
"Mother, father, look, I'm joining the royal guards." Archer said happily,
"Good, go on and go, that's one less mouth to feed." Quiver replied,
"What? You're not going to congratulate me?" Archer asked sadly,
"Just go, we've been waiting for the day for you to move out." Shooter replied,
"Is it so you can be proud of what I do?" Archer asked,
"No, it's so we don't have to see you anymore, now go, get out." Shooter replied, and Archer left, she walked to the royal guard academy while crying.
"That was the last time I ever saw my parents." Archer said,
"Oh, right, I heard from Gunslinger they passed away." Doctor Whooves replied, Archer nods,
"How did you feel about them passing away?" Doctor Whooves asked,
"Actually, I felt relieved when that happened." Archer replied,
"Did you feel any sadness?" Doctor Whooves asked,
"No, I was actually glad." Archer replied,
"I see, well, go on." Doctor Whooves said, and she does.
Archer was at the royal academy and Shining Armor was the drill instructor, Archer was having trouble with the exercising just like everypony else, and she was semi-literate, so she had trouble reading, which Shining Armor noticed, so he helps her become a better reader. Time passes and Archer had trouble with the physical exercises, Shining Armor noticed it and helped her through,
"Remember, Archer, take your time, and you'll get there, I had a hard time in training, too." Shining Armor said, and he went on to go help the other ponies who had trouble. Archer ate more than the other ponies, even though she hated the food, the others noticed it, but they all also noticed that Archer was skinnier than most mares her age,
"Um, Archer?" a greenish-blue mare asked, Archer looks up,
"Didn't you have a lot to eat at home?" the mare asked,
"No, my parents played favorites, and I couldn't eat with them, there are some days when I was growing up where I would have no food at all." Archer replied,
"Oh, no wonder why you have such a big appetite." a blue stallion said,
"Look at her stomach, too, she's very skinny, almost unhealthy." a yellow stallion replied, Archer ate with proper etiquette, and was eating mostly vegetables, which she hated. Archer just sat and waited for the others to finish,
"Archer." Shining Armor said, she turns around and sees him,
"Can I speak to you for a minute?" Shining Armor asked, and Archer trotted to him and followed him. Archer was in Shining Armor's office and they across from one another,
"Okay, Archer, I'll get to the point, you're consuming too much food, we don't have an unlimited supply." Shining Armor said,
"I'm sorry, but I'm starving." Archer replied,
"Yes, I know, but there are others here, too, they have to eat as well, also, if you do that on a diplomatic mission, you will make us ponies look bad." Shining Armor said, Archer took Shining Armor's words to heart and felt bad,
"Try to control your appetite, okay, Archer? You'll embarrass all of Equestria if you do that on a diplomatic mission." Shining Armor said, Archer nods,
"Good, I'm glad you understand, you may go." Shining Armor said, and she leaves his office and goes back to the mess hall.
Archer gets farther into the officer training and a male Pegasus royal guard came,
"Archer?" the royal guard asked,
"Yes." Archer said,
"We just got word that your parents have just passed away." the royal guard replied, Archer was speechless for a second,
"Oh, well... I'll go visit their graves after I finish my training." Archer said,
"But you still have another two years to go." the royal guard replied,
"That's alright, I'll go pay my respects after I graduate." Archer said, and the royal guard left, Archer smiled at the news and went to go continue her training. Two years pass and Archer was about to finish her training, Shining Armor's support and kind words caused her to develop romantic feelings for him, and she would feel happy and safe when he was near her, she smiled at him, which made him smile back, and Archer began to have dreams about Shining Armor.
Two years pass and Archer finished officer training, she walked out of the academy happy and proud of her success, she stood up straight full of pride and confidence as she left, she was out of earshot shortly afterwards,
"Gunslinger, just you wait." Archer said to herself, and she was ready to work as a royal guard. Archer received more training on how to lead a unit and was given the earth pony royal guard armor, she started at the lowest rank and she decided a laissez-faire leadership would be best, because she hated every minute of physical training, and wanted to take a break as long as she could. Archer kept her office open at all times where she was busy applying her makeup, which was eye shadow and mascara, she also had a picture of Shining Armor in her office, it was in a picture frame in the far right corner of her desk from her point of view. Archer was always trying to get a raise whenever possible, Shining Armor eventually took note of it and called her to his office,
"Okay, Archer, sit." Shining Armor said, and Archer did, her romantic feelings of him began to fill her mind,
"Alright, Archer, I'm going to have to ask you to stop asking for raises so often." Shining Armor said, Archer became flustered,
"Sorry, captain." Archer said,
"No, Archer, I'm not mad, I just wanna know why you're asking for a raise so much for." Shining Armor replied,
"Oh, well, my parents never got me anything, so I had to get a job and make money and buy it all, myself." Archer said,
"Ah, that's why, well, Archer, I would like for you to stop asking, you'll get your raises as you serve in the royal guard, there are some things money can't bye." Shining Armor replied,
"Like what?" Archer asked,
"Friendship." Shining Armor replied,
"That's it?" Archer asked,
"No, but that's the main one, you may go, Archer, and please stop asking for money." Shining Armor replied, and Archer left his office.
"Can I ask you something before you go on, Archer?" Doctor Whooves asked,
"Go ahead." Archer replied,
"Did you ask for promotions in your rank the same way you asked for raises?" Doctor Whooves asked,
"No, of course not, promotion in rank is not earned that way." Archer replied,
"Why did you join the royal guard anyway?" Doctor Whooves asked,
"Because Gunslinger has all of these achievements and successes under his name, I wanted one, just one." Archer replied,
"Hmm, I see, go on." Doctor Whooves said, and they continue.
Archer was on guard duty for her job as a royal guard and she hated it, it bored her, she eventually made a lot of bits as her rank went up, she eventually bought herself a brown bow with a black string and a quiver full of arrows, she did target practice while patrolled in Equestria,
"Excuse me, Archer." Princess Celestia said from behind Archer, she turned around and faced her,
"I'm going to ask you to practice elsewhere, arrows are dangerous, so don't shoot it out in the public like that." Princess Celestia said, Archer nodded and Princess Celestia left, Archer began practicing shooting at the base she was stationed at or around it for long distance shots.
Archer was stationed at a royal guard base in Baltimare while she shot arrows outside,
"Did you hear? The wedding's tomorrow, the captain is getting married." a female royal guard said from inside the base,
"Yes, he's marrying Princess Cadence, what a lucky stallion he is." a male royal guard said, Archer stopped what she was doing and looked on with tears in her eyes. The next day comes and Archer went to Canterlot, she tried to hold the changelings back, but she was overwhelmed by how many of them there were. The changeling invasion was thwarted and Archer watched Shining Armor from the very back of the crowd, she watched Shining Armor and Princess Cadence get married with tears in her eyes, and Shining Armor walked by her without noticing her.
Archer returned back to her quarters in Baltimare later that night and trashed her working quarters while letting out angry grunts, she hit the papers off of the desk, threw her chair across the room, and then hit her picture of Shining Armor off of her desk with her front right hoof, she then put her hoofs over her own face and cried with her face and hoofs on the desk.
Archer was crying in Doctor Whooves' office and he tried his best to calm her,
"I understand, Archer, and I'm sorry you didn't get the stallion you loved." Doctor Whooves said,
"You're sorry? He's still married to her, and I thought he would love me." Archer replied, she cried more shortly afterwards, the ponies in Ponyville could hear her, Doctor Whooves did not take note of it because he thought it would be unwise to let Shining Armor and Princess Cadence know about it. Archer cried for sometime and sat back up to look at Doctor Whooves, she got her mascara on his desk,
"Are you ready to continue, Archer?" Doctor Whooves asked, Archer nods,
"Go on, then." Doctor Whooves said, and she continues.
Archer continued practicing archery and doing her job as a royal guard with nothing really happening until King Sombra appeared, Archer worked as a royal guard for sometime and sometime after Twilight Sparkle became an alicorn, Archer made it up to the deputy captain rank. A banquet was held at night for the new deputy captains and Shining Armor was the host, it was six o'clock,
"Okay, as you all know, these are the new deputy captains, it is the second highest rank in the royal guard, only below my rank, and it is not easy to achieve, so let us enjoy this banquet to honor and congratulate these ponies for reaching the deputy captain rank, you all deserve it, cheers." Shining Armor said, and they all do a toast with a glass full of wine. The banquet begins and everypony had a great time, their families, relatives, and friends were there to celebrate with them, but Archer looks around and did not see Gunslinger anywhere, a male royal guard approached her,
"Archer?" the royal guard asked,
"Yes?" Archer asked,
"I spoke to Gunslinger earlier today, he said he won't be able to attend." the royal guard said,
"Why not?" Archer asked,
"He said it's his job, his shift doesn't end until eleven thirty tonight." the royal guard replied, Archer felt extremely sad and almost cried that her brother did not come to visit her, but she was also happy that he was dedicated to his job,
"Okay, thank you." Archer said, and the royal guard leaves while the banquet continued. Archer eats and looks at her food while the other ponies who became deputy captains conversed and laughed with their families and friends, she could not help but feel lonely while she ate, the banquet ended at ten o'clock and Archer went to sleep.
Archer was sad and had a wavy mouth while she talked about the banquet,
"Gunslinger mentioned that, too, I asked him who you were, and all he said was you were a relative of his." Doctor Whooves said,
"I'm still upset he didn't come." Archer replied while crying,
"How much more until we get to the part where you're in the woods with your unit?" Doctor Whooves asked,
"Just a little more, we're almost there, just two more events." Archer replied,
"Okay, go on, then." Doctor Whooves said, and Archer continues.
Archer was being a deputy captain and spent her first job walking with Shining Armor and to defend him, she stood as close as she could to him since she still had romantic feelings for him, he did not notice and smiled at the fact that Archer was very determined to protect him, Archer felt comfort whenever she was close to Shining Armor and walked behind him. Archer was in at her desk one day and putting her makeup on, knocking was heard at her door,
"Come in." Archer said, and the door opened, it was Princess Cadence, Archer felt a chord struck in her at just seeing her since she married the stallion of her dreams. Princess Cadence sat across from Archer,
"Archer, we need to talk." Princess Cadence said,
"Yes, your highness?" Archer asked,
"I understand it's your job to protect Shining Armor whenever he goes on a trip, but you're standing too close to my husband for my liking." Princess Cadence replied,
"I'm just doing my job, your highness, it is my upmost duty to be on guard and ready to protect the captain at anytime." Archer said,
"Yes, I get that, but you're too close to him, I'd like for you to more to the side instead of right behind him, it makes me very uncomfortable." Princess Cadence replied, Archer felt her anger raising but suppressed it,
"You want me to move because you're uncomfortable? What about him?" Archer asked,
"I haven't asked him." Princess Cadence replied,
"Well, let's go ask him how he feels about it." Archer said,
"He's not available right now." Princess Cadence replied, Archer looks at her schedule on her desk and saw she will be with Shining Armor later that day,
"Well, I'll be with him later today, so if you wish, I can ask him for you." Archer said,
"I have your schedule, Archer, I'll be there as well." Princess Cadence replied, and she left while Archer watched her. The day passes and Archer was in the Crystal Empire a few hours later, she was walking with Shining Armor and acting as his bodyguard, Princess Cadence was walking with him to his left, and Archer was to his right and right behind him, his hind right hoof almost touched Archer's front left hoof as they walked,
"Hey, um, captain, I have something to ask you." Archer said,
"Yes, Archer?" Shining Armor asked in a friendly and fatherly tone, it made Archer's feelings for him come up again,
"Uh... um... how do you feel with me being this close to you?" Archer asked,
"I don't mind, just be careful not to step on my hoofs." Shining Armor replied, Archer was happy that Shining Armor did not mind her being so close to him,
"Um, Shining Armor, dear, I mind, seeing her so close to you is making me nervous." Princess Cadence said,
"Oh, I see, sorry, Archer, but you're going to have to move back a bit." Shining Armor said, Archer felt angry but obeyed, she looks at Princess Cadence and to her surprise and confusion, Princess Cadence was smiling happily and affectionately with her eyes closed and looking forward rather looking at her and smirking smugly. Archer moved to her right a bit and walked with Shining Armor and Princess Cadence, she saw she can still almost touch Shining Armor's hoof, which made her feel better, and she continues walking with them.
"And ever since then, I have to keep my distance like that whenever I march with the captain." Archer said,
"Well, try not to touch his hoof, he'll be mad at you as well if you try to pursue a romantic relationship with him." Doctor Whooves replied, Archer tried not to cry, Doctor Whooves could not help but feel sympathetic since he can tell that Archer was still heartbroken, she pulled herself together after a few seconds,
"Do you feel better?" Doctor Whooves asked, Archer nods,
"You said one more event before we get to when you were in the woods, right?" Doctor Whooves asked,
"Yes, this was shortly before I got my first unit to lead." Archer replied,
"Okay, well go on and say it." Doctor Whooves said, and Archer continues her tale.
Archer was shopping and buying herself a birthday present, she was exhausted and could not see straight, she saw a snow globe and thought it was beautiful, she saw the clerk and went to him, who was a unicorn,
"Excuse me." Archer said,
"What do you want?" the clerk asked,
"I'd like that snow globe there, please." Archer replied,
"What does some poor slob like you need it for?" the clerk asked,
"Poor slob? I'll have you know that I am a deputy captain in the royal guard." Archer replied,
"Well, miss deputy captain, since you're with the royal guard, price for the snow globe is fifty bits." the clerk said,
"Fifty bits? That's insane." Archer replied,
"Can't you afford it with your job?" the clerk asked,
"*sigh* Fine." Archer replied, and she paid him fifty bits, he puts the bits behind him in a molten machine and melts the bits,
"What are you doing?" Archer asked,
"I don't do refunds." the clerk replied, and he held out the snow globe with his front right hoof, Archer reaches for it with her front left hoof, but the clerk moves his hoof back,
"Uh, uh, twenty more bits." the clerk said,
"What?" Archer asked,
"Earth pony tax." the clerk replied,
"You gotta be kidding me." Archer said,
"Pay it, or you don't get the snow globe." the clerk replied,
"Oh, come on, today's my birthday." Archer said,
"That means you have to pay an additional thirty bits." the clerk replied, Archer let out an annoyed grunt and she paid him, he put the bits in the molten machine, he holds the snow globe out again and Archer reaches for it, but the clerk lifts his front right hoof up and throws it past her, she watches and saw the snow globe shatter, she looks back at the clerk with shock while he laughs,
"I forgot, you're a girl, nothing in my shop is on sale for you." the clerk said, Archer becomes shocked while he laughs at her and she sees her bits that he has melted. Archer growls while the clerk laughed at her, she jumps over the counter and begins to beat up the clerk, he screams while Archer gave him a beating. Archer was sitting in her office a few days later and she got the message that the clerk she beat up was in the hospital, he was on life support and had to eat and drink through a feeding straw, the door opens and Shining Armor came in, he walks to her and places a paper on her desk. Archer reads it and was in disbelief,
"What? I have to forgive him and offer him my friendship?" Archer asked,
"Yes, Archer, you have to tell him you're sorry for beating him." Shining Armor replied,
"What?! Oh, come on, captain, you're more logical than this." Archer said,
"I didn't make this order, my sister did." Shining Armor replied,
"WHAT?! Princess Twilight is ordering this?! She's not even a part of the royal guard!" Archer said,
"But she is a princess, so she commands us." Shining Armor replied,
"Come on, Shining Armor, convince her that it's his own fault why he got a beating, you're her older brother." Archer said,
"Yes, but her title is higher than my own, so I can't override this decision." Shining Armor replied,
"Come on, captain, you can at least talk some sense into her." Archer said,
"Now, now, Archer, I understand you're upset, and if it was up to me, I wouldn't give you this order, but my sister's title is higher than mine, and I can't override it, so when you have the time, make amends with that pony." Shining Armor replied, Archer groaned loudly and Shining Armor left, Archer looked at her schedule and saw she was going to be deployed soon anyway, so she got ready to leave and command her first unit.
Archer was grumbling and growling as she remembered, she then growls completely,
"Archer!" Doctor Whooves said, it startles her back into reality,
"Are you here?" Doctor Whooves asked, Archer nods and then sighs,
"This is where that report of yours starts, so go on and read it if you want to." Archer said,
"This report only says what has happened, I need to know about your feelings and thinking process." Doctor Whooves replied,
"Okay, well, here goes." Archer said, and she sighs while she begins to explain what has happened while Doctor Whooves reads the report and listens.
Archer was deployed into the woods and led the unit, she had five ponies under her command, they were Xenophobe, Macho, Consigliere, Mean Streak, and Old Hag, Xenophobe was a male unicorn, he had a white coat, blue mane and tail, purple eyes, and his cutie mark was a chart with a unicorn at the top, a Pegasus in the middle, and an earth pony at the bottom, his rank was lieutenant, Macho was a male Pegasus, he had a light red coat, bright orange mane and tail, yellow eyes, and his cutie mark was a blue mars symbol with two arms that were flexing its muscles, his rank was lieutenant, Consigliere was a female Pegasus, she had a dark red coat, long pale red mane and tail, dark reddish pink eyes, and her cutie mark was a black history book, her rank was captain lieutenant, she was Archer's adviser and second-in-command, Mean Streak was a female Pegasus, she had a light gray coat, long purple mane and tail, green eyes, and her cutie mark was a wine glass, her rank was lieutenant, and Old Hag was a female Pegasus, she had a dirty white coat, white mane and tail, blue eyes, and her cutie mark was a black witch's hat, her rank was lieutenant, her skin was wrinkled since she was elderly.
Archer led them and they were in the woods, Archer was looking for a spot to set up camp, she wanted to be around a place where she could hear the woodland creatures since she grew to love animals from her past job at the animal shelter,
"Right here is good." Archer said, and they begin to set up camp,
"Really, in the middle of the woods?" Old Hag asked,
"Well, yes, the captain did say to patrol out here in the woods." Archer replied,
"This is just to test you, we're not the ones who have the pressure of how well somepony does at their job." Mean Streak said, the others nod,
"Come on, let's just set up the camp." Archer said,
"Deputy captain, I think it would be better if we go out farther into the woods." Consigliere said,
"Consigliere, please, I want to make my own decision this time, you've been a good adviser, though." Archer replied, Consigliere remained silent, and they all set up camp,
"Okay, everything's set up, Xenophobe, Macho, help me map out the area." Archer said, the two did not obey her, she gets annoyed and turns around,
"I just gave out an order." Archer said,
"From you, an earth pony?" Xenophobe asked,
"Like I'm going to be bossed around by you." Macho said, Archer glares at them,
"Come on, you two, stop being stubborn, or I'll report both of you for insubordination." Archer said,
"I am not taking orders from an earth pony." Xenophobe replied,
"I'm not going to be bossed around by a mare." Macho said, Archer growls,
"Fine, Mean Streak, Old Hag, you two help me." Archer said,
"You? A lower-class filth who had to go some days without eating? No way." Mean Streak replied,
"I'm older than you, woman, your orders mean nothing to me." Old Hag said, Archer becomes very angry and growls again,
"I'll scout the rest of the forest, deputy captain." Consigliere said,
"Thank you, Consigliere, I wish you good luck." Archer replied, and Consigliere flew away, Archer sighs and went to scout the area a bit more while Xenophobe, Macho, Mean Streak, and Old Hag stayed behind.
Archer walks around the woods and was having a peace of mind already, she hears crickets chirping and birds singing, which she loved, she maps the area out in her mind and wanted to keep exploring forever since she loved the animals so much, the crickets chirping and birds singing were making her relax, she also saw deer eating, a sight that she thought was very pretty, she smiled at seeing all of the animals walking around and running around the forest, she smiles and keeps walking around aimlessly,
"Deputy captain." Consigliere said, it startled Archer and she turns around,
"It is almost dark, we should head back." Consigliere said, Archer nodded and the two went back to camp. Archer and Consigliere arrive back at camp and they saw Xenophobia, Macho, Mean Streak, and Old Hag sitting at a campfire and having dinner,
"Excuse me, can you all gather around me for a minute, please?" Archer asked, they rolled their eyes and did,
"I know it's been a rough few days, and we're all tired, but I am willing to put myself in danger for the safeties and protection of you guys, and I wish for you all to do the same with me. We are in this together, and we must function as a team in order to make it out together, that is how ponies survived, through helping one another and friendship, we forgive one another for past actions and mistakes, through love and friendship for one another, we will finish this with no problem, and move on to better and happier positions after this, but until then, we must work together. As your leader, I have plans and ways to get through scouting these woods, but I need you all to trust me and believe in me, and I know we will be able to get through with no problem, so for now, we listen to one another, help one another, and never keep secrets from one another, you all may rest now." Archer said, and the five ponies under her command go into their tents.
Archer wakes up the next morning and yawns, she begins decorate the inside her tent, she put up pictures of herself and Shining Armor around the perimeter of the tent, she reaches into her saddlebag and takes out a wrapper, she opens it and has breakfast, she was eating strawberry pop-tarts, she also had a pack of cookies, a pack of doughnuts, lollipops from Sugarcube Corner, several Danish pastries glazed with frosting, cinnamon rolls, and a pack of honey buns, while they were not healthy, Archer felt full for the whole day whenever she had them for breakfast, she finishes the pack of pop-tarts and leaves the wrapper in her saddlebag and heads out. Archer arrives outside and saw the ponies serving under her were not awake yet,
"Huh, everypony's still asleep?" Archer asked, a tent to her left opens and Consigliere comes out,
"Good morning, deputy captain." Consigliere said,
"Good morning." Archer replied, Consigliere walks over to Archer and stands to her right,
"What are you thinking about doing today?" Consigliere asked,
"I want to keep mapping the area for the captain, so when he deploys more guards, they'll know where everything is." Archer replied, Consigliere chuckled,
"You are so determined to impress Shining Armor, is something going on between the two of you?" Consigliere asked, Archer blushes,
"What? No, I just want to show him that I'm a good and competent leader." Archer replied,
"Doesn't every deputy captain want to?" Consigliere asked, Archer smiled,
"Well, come on, let's wait for now." Archer said,
"No, let's map the place out now, it'll look good on your record, it'll show Shining Armor that you are going above and beyond your call of duty, and that you are scouting the place first to protect those under you." Consigliere replied, Archer thought about it,
"You know what, you're right, let's do it now." Archer said with a smile, and the two begin scouting the forest. Archer walks around the forest and sees the animals having a peaceful time, she felt happy watching them and saw squirrels and raccoons looking at her, she walks to them and leans down,
"Hello." Archer said, the squirrels and raccoons saw she was friendly and went to her, she pets them and they all gather around her and rub their heads on her legs, Archer smiled and the deer came to her, so did the bugs in the forest, she saw the foxes coming to her, and then the bears, then the snakes, then the moose, Archer pets all of them and soon saw the birds come down to her, she has memories of her time at the animal shelter and was enjoying spending time with the animals,
"Come here, you." Archer said as she held her front left hoof out and petted the animals, she hugged the animals that came near her, she puts them down while the animals smiled at her, the animals make various noises, Archer understood what they were saying due to her time at the animal shelter,
"Play along, now, I've got a job to do." Archer said, and she stood up and walked away while the animals left. Archer explores the forest and memorizes it the best she could so she will know where to go, she liked seeing the animals everywhere and walked around while admiring the forest, she keeps walking around slowly and decided she has been gone long enough and went back to camp. Archer arrives back and saw Consigliere was not back yet, so she enters her tent and opens a second saddlebag that had her makeup and cosmetics in it, she begins to put on dark red eye shadow, she soon saw a shadow at her tent's entrance,
"Come in." Archer said, and Xenophobe entered, he sat across from her while Archer put her makeup kit down and smiled, Xenophobe looks at her in strange way since she had eye shadow on her right eyelid, and no eye shadow on her left eyelid,
"Um..." Xenophobe said as he looked at Archer's makeup,
"Ignore it, how can I help you?" Archer asked,
"I haven't seen Consigliere around, I was wondering if you knew where she was at." Xenophobe replied,
"She went to go around and map the forest, I thought she would be back by now, too." Archer said,
"Shouldn't you be out looking for her?" Xenophobe asked,
"As I said, I thought she'd be back by now, and you know Consigliere, if she has trouble, she'll call for us." Archer replied,
"Right, I'll be looking for her if that happens." Xenophobe said,
"Good for you, Xenophobe, caring about your teammate." Archer replied with a smile,
"It's because Consigliere's a Pegasus, she is worth looking for, but not as much as unicorns." Xenophobe said, Archer stopped smiling,
"What about earth ponies?" Archer asked,
"They're not worth anything, we should leave them to die if they get lost." Xenophobe replied, Archer becomes shocked at what he said,
"Well, is there anything else concerning you, Xenophobe?" Archer asked,
"No, just wanted to make sure that Pegasus was alright, I'll leave you to your affairs." Xenophobe replied, and he exits her tent. Archer puts her makeup on and was getting ready for the day,
"What is she doing?" Macho asked from outside the tent,
"Same, she's putting on her makeup and eating those sweets." Xenophobe replied,
"Oh, you youngins and your sweets, no wonder why you all are out of shape these days." Old Hag said,
"I don't even know why a lower-class filth like her is eating such luxuries, she should eat trash like the rest of her class." Mean Streak said, Archer glared at them,
"Plus, she's an earth pony, she should be a slave to us unicorns." Xenophobe said,
"And she's a mare, she should be cooking my dinner and bearing my children, just like the rest of you mares." Macho said,
"Don't push it, Macho." Mean Streak said,
"What do you think the class of ponies should be, Xenophobe?" Old Hag asked,
"Well, since us unicorns are the ones who cast magic, we should be the rulers and the upper-class, while you Pegasi should be the ones who control the weather and our soldiers, and the earth ponies like her should be slaves and do all the physical labor." Xenophobe replied,
"I actually kind of like that." Mean Streak said, Archer saw Macho and Old Hag nodding as well, Archer finishes putting on her makeup and walks out to them,
"Okay, everypony, let's look for Consigliere since she hasn't returned yet." Archer said, and everypony except Macho went to go look for her,
"Come on, Macho, that includes you, too." Archer said,
"I'm not going anywhere." Macho replied,
"Look, I know you don't want to take orders from me because I'm a girl, but I'm still your superior." Archer said,
"That doesn't mean you're the boss of me." Macho replied, she soon sees the other three come back,
"You three didn't even look." Archer said,
"Like I'm going to let an earth pony tell me what to do." Xenophobe replied,
"A lower-class pony like you should be obeying me instead." Mean Streak said,
"If I remember correctly, you're the youngest out of all of us, so to me, you're the lowest ranking pony around here." Old Hag said, Archer growls,
"Come on, guys, our ally could be in danger." Archer said,
"Like we're going to obey you." Mean Streak replied,
"Come on, you four, Consigliere could be missing, she's a part of the team, and need to be found if she's hurt." Archer said,
"Go look for her, yourself, you're the laziest one on the team." Old Hag replied, the other three agree, Archer's anger rose even higher,
"That's it, I'm reporting you four for insubordination." Archer said,
"How? We're all in the middle of nowhere." Mean Streak replied,
"Yeah, you've got no one to report to." Macho said, Archer let out an annoyed groan, she goes into her tent and puts her armor on, her royal guard outfit was gold with purple jewels in it, and the helmet was gold with a purple outline all around it, and had purple horse hair on the back, Archer also gets her quiver and puts it on her back, she puts her bow around herself and runs out.
Archer runs around the forest and was looking for Consigliere,
"Consigliere!" Archer called out,
"I'm here, deputy captain." Consigliere said from afar, Archer looks to her left and sees her in the air,
"What are you doing?" Archer asked,
"Just looking around and double checking the place, I already scouted the entire forest." Consigliere replied,
"Oh, okay, hurry up then, the others are worried about you." Archer said,
"Okay, I will be done soon." Consigliere replied, and she flies away. Archer goes to a part in the forest with several trees, Archer begins using her bow and arrow and shoots the trees with it, she fires her arrows and hits each one of her targets perfectly, it made her smile since all of those years of practice really paid off for her, she continues firing her arrows and has a flashback. Archer was in Canterlot and set up targets, she fires her arrows at the targets while the other ponies watch her,
"Excuse me. Archer." Princess Celestia said, Archer looks to her left and saw Princess Celestia coming,
"I'm going to have to ask you to practice your shooting elsewhere, I already had a foal with a permanently damaged wing from a long-ranged weapon." Princess Celestia said, Archer became uncomfortable at hearing that and felt bad for the Pegasus,
"You can practice, Archer, but only use your bow for sport, do not use it as a weapon, or I will have to outlaw it." Princess Celestia said, and she walked away, Archer goes elsewhere in Canterlot and practices there instead, which did not bother anypony. Archer's flashback ends and she continues firing arrows at the trees, she kept firing until there were no more regular arrows in her quiver, she reaches on her back and feels a ribbon, she realizes it and stops, she tied blue ribbons around her explosive arrows, which she made by buying fireworks from Trixie and tying them onto her arrows with rope. Archer gets her arrows and puts them back in her quiver and heads back.
Archer arrives back and saw Xenophobe, Macho, Mean Streak, and Old Hag were sitting around a fire and conversing, they were laughing as well, Archer arrived at the fire,
"Well?" Xenophobe asked,
"She's fine, just still scouting the area." Archer replied,
"Have you ever checked Consigliere's background?" Mean Streak asked,
"Yes, it says that she was an average Pegasus with parents who worked at the weather factory." Archer replied,
"Did you check ours as well?" Macho asked,
"Of course I did." Archer replied,
"What are our backgrounds, then?" Xenophobe asked,
"You're from Equestrian nobility, and you joined the royal guard because it's a tradition in your family for stallions to serve in the royal guard. Macho is from the middle-class, your mother passed away when you were a baby, and you were raised by your father, and you inherited your beliefs about girls from him, you also looked up to him, and joined the royal guard to follow in his footsteps. Mean Streak is from Equestrian nobility, and grew up in a fancy house full of maids and servants, you only got in the royal guard because of your parents' wealth. Old Hag is an average pony who was the oldest sibling in her family, and you bossed them around, you joined the royal guard just for the experience." Archer replied,
"Well, miss informed, I see you've done your homework." Mean Streak said,
"I have to, or I will lose my job." Archer replied,
"Well, aren't you going to report Consigliere for insubordination?" Old Hag asked,
"No, she's doing her job, just more than what I asked for, that's a good thing." Archer replied,
"Still, I don't think scouting the woods would take this long." Xenophobe said,
"Well, it's a big place, and unexplored." Archer replied,
"That's good, come on, Xenophobe, let's go together." Macho said,
"No, Macho, we're going together." Archer replied,
"With you and a bunch of girls? No way." Macho said,
"Macho." Archer replied a little sternly, they hear flying and Consigliere came back,
"Sorry I took so long, I was busy exploring the woods piece by piece." Consigliere said,
"I see, good work, Consigliere, and thank you." Archer replied,
"Well, what do we do now, Archer?" Mean Streak asked,
"Um..." Archer said as she thought about what to do next,
"Let's remain here, it'll show the other guards that we have the courage to stay in a place filled with the unknown and danger." Consigliere said,
"Sure, that'll look good on our records." Xenophobe replied,
"Alright, I'll listen to a mare just this once." Macho said, Archer smiled,
"I'm going to go rest, I'll be in my tent if anypony needs me." Consigliere said, and she went into it,
"Well, since everything has been done for us by Consigliere, I guess all we can do is stay in our tents and rest, you all can explore this forest, but don't travel out too far." Archer said, and they go into their tents and Archer took her uniform off. Archer could not sleep in her tent and it was dark, she hears the animals whimpering and squeaking in the forest, along with growls and roars, Archer quickly sits up and gets her quiver and bow and runs outside. Archer runs to where she hears the animals and saw the adult animals attacking the baby animals, she becomes shocked and runs to them,
"What are you all doing?!" Archer asked, the adult animals turn around and Archer saw they now had dark gold eyes', much to her bafflement. The adult animals turn their attentions to her and begin running and flying to attack her, Archer exclaimed while she got pinned down by an adult bear, the bear roars in her face while Archer held its front claws back with her front hoofs, she grunts with effort and throws the bear over herself, she pants heavily since while she was physically stronger than unicorns and Pegasi, she was still weaker than the average earth pony. Archer was uncomfortable with shooting the animals with her bow and arrow, she sees the adult birds fly down to her and they begin attacking her with their talons, she exclaimed while she blocked them with her front hoofs, the baby birds distract their parents and they turn around and begin attacking their own children. Archer tries to call for the animals but they ignore her, Archer feels bad but takes her bow off of her back and fires an arrow, she hits an adult bird and it falls, she fires more arrows and hits an adult squirrel, which squeaked in pain, she hears the adult bear behind her and she fires an arrow into it, it roars in pain and all of the adult animals run and fly away.
Archer puts the bow back on her back and leans down to look at the baby animals,
"Are you all okay?" Archer asked, the animals let out various noises,
"One at a time, please." Archer said, and the animals become quiet,
"Now, what happened?" Archer asked, a squirrel squeaks and Archer listens,
"You all saw a shadow of your parents, and someone touched them." Archer said, the animals nod and the squirrel squeaks again,
"When they came back, they were already behaving that way?" Archer asked, the animals nod,
"What did the shadow look like?" Archer asked, the squirrel squeaks again,
"A pony?!" Archer asked with shock, the animals nod, Archer becomes suspicious of her unit,
"Okay, that is all, thank you." Archer said, and the animals leave. Archer walks around and looks around the woods, she gasps when she sees white objects in her sight, she runs to them and saw they were skeletons of baby animals, they looked new as well. Archer puts her head down and cries on the skeletons since the sight of dead animals saddened her, it always did, even when she worked at the animal shelter, Archer finishes grieving and went back to camp. Archer arrives back to her camp and stood outside,
"Consigliere, come out here for a minute." Archer said, Consigliere came out and walked to her,
"Yes, deputy captain." Consigliere said,
"Did you touch the animals while you scouted the area?" Archer asked,
"Yes, I greeted them kindly." Consigliere replied,
"Really, because I saw the adult animals attacking their own children just now." Archer said,
"You think they could be disciplining their young?" Consigliere asked,
"No, I know animals very well, Consigliere, and their eyes have changed color." Archer replied,
"Your point?" Consigliere asked,
"What did you do to them?" Archer asked,
"Nothing, I just petted them and greeted them, maybe the animals are under mind control from a spell Xenophobe cast." Consigliere replied,
"No, I doubt he even knows such a spell." Archer said,
"Excuse me, can you four come out for a minute?" Consigliere asked, Xenophobe, Macho, Mean Streak, and Old Hag came out,
"Do you all know why I called for you four?" Consigliere asked,
"Yes, we've been listening." Xenophobe replied,
"Well, can you cast a spell like that?" Archer asked,
"No, that is a very advanced spell, even the best unicorns have trouble with mind control spells." Xenophobe replied,
"Did he cast any spells while Archer and I were gone?" Consigliere asked, Macho, Mean Streak, and Old Hag shake their heads,
"Well, that leaves you, Consigliere, what did you do to those animals?" Archer asked,
"I told you, I did nothing, I just greeted them." Consigliere replied, Archer was very suspicious of Consigliere due to her calm and emotionless way of speaking,
"I'll be in my tent." Archer said, and she entered. Archer lays down and relaxes since trying to find out what happened was already hurting her head, she just lays down and was almost sleeping, she looks and watched the five ponies under her command, she saw Consigliere go back to her tent,
"What do you all think about Consigliere?" Xenophobe asked,
"I'm finding her to be a bit creepy, she always speaks in a monotone." Mean Streak replied,
"I do find it a bit strange, do you have any spell to bring up our background info, Xenophobe?" Old Hag asked,
"Yeah, it's a pretty simple spell, not too hard to cast." Xenophobe replied,
"Well, cast it, let's see if we can find info on Consigliere." Macho said, and Archer peeked out of her tent to look, curious as well. Xenophobe casts a spell and his magic aura was yellow, he makes a screen appear and it had information on all six of the ponies present,
"Let's see, Consigliere, here she is." Xenophobe said, and he enlarges it,
"What the?" Xenophobe asked, the other four look and see Consigliere's real name was Anthropologist, and she was an explorer along with her younger brother, Archaeologist, the two explored an ancient temple in the woods many years ago, and they stopped exploring suddenly after that trip, Archer and the other four were confused, they look and see there was no more information on her,
"That's weird, that's all it says." Mean Streak said,
"She must be a reserved pony, let's watch her tomorrow." Old Hag said, and they enter their tents and sleep. Morning comes and Archer woke up early, even though it was still kind of dark in the forest, she walks out of her tent and saw the others come out,
"Consigliere, we need to talk." Archer said,
"Yes, deputy captain." Anthropologist said,
"Why did you change your name?" Archer asked,
"I just wanted to leave my old life behind, it reminds me of that life." Anthropologist replied,
"That's it?" Mean Streak asked,
"That's it." Anthropologist replied,
"Well, come on, everypony, let's move farther into the forest, Consigliere will lead us." Archer said, the four did not move,
"Come on, guys, not now, your records will be destroyed if you all disobey me." Archer said,
"No, it won't, it's yours that will be destroyed." Old Hag replied,
"What?" Archer asked,
"She's right, it'll show that you're a failure who can't keep her own soldiers in line." Xenophobe replied, Archer becomes shocked at what he said,
"Well, stop disobeying me and follow my orders, we still have to go out of the other side of this forest and see what's there." Archer said while raising her voice a little,
"Didn't you already find it on your own?" Macho asked,
"No, I just scouted a small part of it on my own." Archer replied,
"Apparently, Consigliere can get more done than you can." Xenophobe said,
"I can't fly like how she can." Archer replied,
"But don't you have more stamina than she does?" Mean Streak asked,
"No." Archer replied,
"That's what you get for eating all of that junk food all the time, typical young people stupidity." Old Hag said,
"Hey!" Archer said while raising her voice, Xenophobe, Macho, Mean Streak, and Old Hag laugh a little,
"Still, how is some poor pony like you able to afford that stuff?" Mean Streak asked,
"They're very cheap." Archer replied,
"Which explains why you're out of shape." Mean Streak said, Xenophobe, Macho, and Old Hag snicker,
"Enough, now come on, we've got a place to go to." Archer said,
"Considering where you had us camp for here, I don't think so." Xenophobe replied,
"Just like what my dad said when I was a foal, never have girls like her make decisions because they can't think straight." Macho said,
"HEY!!" Archer yelled while raising her voice on impulse,
"Is that your voice cracking I hear? Look out, everypony, we're being told what to do by a shrew." Macho said,
"MACHO!!" Archer yelled angrily while Xenophobe, Mean Streak, and Old Hag laugh, Macho smirked at her,
"Plus, you can't cast magic or fly like the rest of us, you should be at the bottom of the hierarchy, so do what you earth ponies were born to do, be slaves, and carry us five with you." Xenophobe said,
"We don't have a wagon!" Archer replied while raising her voice,
"Of course you wouldn't, there's no road between your tent and the kitchen." Macho said, Archer growls while Mean Streak and Old Hag laugh a little,
"My, my, Archer look at that, you're a young, child-breeding, kitchen cooking, lower-class slave, I wonder what else we can add." Mean Streak said, Archer let out of lot of growls and angry grunts,
Archer was in the chair and growling and grunting angrily as she remembered the memory, the ponies outside hear her and were worried,
"Archer." Doctor Whooves said, Archer stops remembering and looks forward,
"Calm down, I know you're mad, but you don't need to raise your voice, take a few deep breaths, and then continue." Doctor Whooves said, Archer takes several slow deep breaths and pants slowly after a few minutes,
"Do you feel better?" Doctor Whooves asked, Archer nods,
"Well, let's continue." Doctor Whooves said, and he continues to listen to Archer.
Archer growled and began twitching her face around since she was very angry,
"Deputy captain." Anthropologist said, Archer turned around,
"Go for a walk and cool off, I'll have a talk with them." Anthropologist said,
"Okay, thank you, Consigliere, as usual." Archer replied, and she got her bow and arrow and went for a walk. Archer walks around the woods and was still angry, the baby animals look at her with worry,
"I'm fine, I just need time to calm down." Archer said, and the animals stop being worried, she continues to walk around and sees more skeletons up ahead, Archer exclaims and runs to them, she saw they were more baby animals and recent, Archer grieves over them and continues to walk through the forest. Archer keeps walking and calms down after several minutes, she sighs and gets on her knees,
"Can you all gather around me for a minute? Please?" Archer asked, and the animals did,
"What happened to your parents?" Archer asked, a fox lets out a few barks and Archer understands it,
"So, let me get this straight, when the pony touched your parents, some small pink bug was on them, it went into their noses, and then they started acting the way they act." Archer said, the animals nod,
"How small was this pink bug?" Archer asked, a raccoon squeaks,
"Smaller than a flea?" Archer asked, the animals nod,
"That means they can't feel it, that bug must be some kind of parasite, it entered their noses to get to their brains and control them." Archer said, the animals look at her with shock, Archer was wondering about Anthropologist as she spoke to the animals,
"I'll be going back now, I'll have a look around." Archer said, and she leaves. Archer walks back to camp and saw an adult hawk carrying a baby snake, Archer looks and sees the hawk had dark gold eyes, she takes her bow off and fires an arrow at the hawk, it screeches when it got hit in the head and falls, Archer runs and then jumps, she falls on the ground but catches the snake, she looks and sees a small pink parasitic-like bug crawl out of the hawk's nose, it looked like a six-legged spider, Archer quickly takes her arrow back and stabs the bug with it and kills it, she thinks about Anthropologist and wondered about her,
"Quick, go hide." Archer whispered, and the snake slithered away while Archer headed back to camp. Archer runs back to camp and saw the other five were in their tents, she hears eating in Anthropologist's tent and looks, she gasps when she sees the shadows, Anthropologist was eating an animal. Archer quickly takes an arrow out of her quiver and aims her bow, she fires it through the tent and hits Anthropologist in the head, but it did not seem to do anything, much to Archer's shock, since she can see Anthropologist was not wearing a helmet, she puts the animal down and walks to the entrance of her tent. The tent's zipper opens and Anthropologist walks out with the arrow in the center of her forehead and red stains around her mouth, Archer backs away in fear,
"I wish you hadn't done that." Anthropologist said,
"What are you doing?" Archer asked,
"Surviving, I need some source of food." Anthropologist replied,
"But you're eating animals." Archer said,
"I need to eat meat to survive." Anthropologist replied, much to Archer's disgust,
"Why animals?" Archer asked,
"Because there's plenty of them, and it's not my fault I have to eat here, it's Fluttershy's." Anthropologist replied,
"How?" Archer asked,
"Because of her, ponies are more aware of animals, and there's no more roadkill, that was my primary source of food, but now that's gone, I have to search the wilderness." Anthropologist said, much to Archer's shock,
"But why baby animals?" Archer asked,
"They're easier prey." Anthropologist replied,
"What about those adult animals?" Archer asked,
"I'll eat them after the baby animals are gone, I'll need them for the time being." Anthropologist replied, Archer's eyes and mouth were still wide open,
"Well, since you have discovered what I am, I have no choice but to silence you." Anthropologist said, and she flies towards Archer. Anthropologist tries to tackle Archer but she gets on her stomach and goes under her, she rolls over while her quiver spilled, she gets an explosive arrow and fires it at Anthropologist, it hits her and explodes on impact. Xenophobe, Macho, Mean Streak, and Old Hag wake up and come out of their tents, they look and see Anthropologist land while on fire, it disappears and the five were shocked to Anthropologist's true form, she had pink skin, her eyes remained the same, her mane was gone, her ears were pointed at the top, her snout becomes two small holes, and her teeth become yellow, razor sharp, fanged teeth. Four pink tentacles come out of the area of Anthropologist's head that Archer hit with the arrow, three more pink tentacles came out of her mouth and act as her tongue, the tentacles roar and Archer saw yellow, razor sharp, fanged teeth inside the tentacles, Anthropologist's entire body was pink, she had yellow, razor sharp, fanged teeth going down the center of her chest and abdomen, her muscles were bigger, she had three yellow claws on each hoof, her wings also grew bigger, the wings now had black arms and the digits at the bottom that were also black, the patagium on the wings were pink, and Anthropologist's tail was pink with a sharp yellow tip.
Archer and the others back away from Anthropologist at seeing her true form,
"I wish you hadn't done that." Anthropologist said, her voice was distorted and made the other five ponies uncomfortable, her stomach grumbles and she flies away. Archer was in disbelief and in denial,
"No, this isn't true, my best friend isn't a monster." Archer said with sorrow, the other four look at her and smile at seeing her upset,
"Come on, you four, let's stop her before she kills all of the animals." Archer said,
"No way." Xenophobe replied,
"WHAT?!" Archer yelled,
"Those annoying animals have been keeping us at night with their noises, she'll be doing us all a favor." Macho said, the others nod, Archer was shocked,
"If anything we should be helping her." Mean Streak said,
"Yes, hunting animals, just like the old days." Old Hag replied,
"Princess Celestia will be very upset if you all do that." Archer said,
"Who cares what she says, Celestia's words mean nothing to me." Macho replied,
"Shining Armor will be mad with you as well." Archer said,
"I'm not listening to him, he's younger than me." Old Hag replied,
"You still have to respect the chain of command, Old Hag." Archer said,
"Respecting your elders is more important." Old Hag replied, Archer groaned with anger,
"I say we leave, we're not staying with that thing here." Mean Streak said,
"I'm the commander! I'll decide what to do!" Archer replied,
"We'd rather take orders from that creature than from you." Xenophobe said, Archer becomes shocked while the others stood there in agreement. Animals are heard roaring and running, they see them coming,
"Run!" Mean Streak said, and she, Old Hag, and Xenophobe run away,
"I'm not taking orders from a mare." Macho said,
"Let's go, Macho." Xenophobe said,
"Okay." Macho said, and he goes. Archer runs after the four ponies while Macho, Mean Streak and Old Hag flew away, and Xenophobe used telekinesis on himself, Archer runs to escape with them but Xenophobe uses telekinesis to send her back into the forest,
"Hey!" Archer said, and she was put back in the forest while Xenophobe used his telekinesis to make the trees fall and block the exit, Xenophobe, Macho, Mean Streak, and Old Hag laugh as they leave,
"NO!!" Archer yelled, she began to tear up and went into her tent, she sits and cries with her front hoofs over her face,
"Why? Why must I fail at everything I try to do?" Archer asked while crying,
Archer was crying at Doctor Whooves' desk and he watches her,
"Archer." Doctor Whooves said to snap her out of it, she just barely came back to the present,
"What happened next?" Doctor Whooves asked, Archer begins to remember and cried again and began hyperventilating, Doctor Whooves realized the next part has traumatized her, so he decides to read the report.
Archer continues to cry in despair over being trapped and the things in her life going wrong ever since she was a child, and she now had no way of leaving the forest, she continues to cry until she heard the baby animals let out cries of fear. Archer stops crying and looks to her right, she continues to hear the baby animals, she becomes scared of Anthropologist,
"Remember, Archer, they're more scared of her than you are, they can't fight back, you have to do it." Archer said to herself, and she puts on her armor, quiver, and bow, she stands up and runs out of her tent. Archer arrives outside and hears the animals to her right, she runs there and was a bit slow, she pants as she runs, Archer pushes herself and saw the adult animals trying to get the baby animals for Anthropologist to eat. Archer continues to run and takes her bow off of her back and holds it in her front right hoof, she holds an arrow in her front left hoof and fires it, the adult animals she hit all let out roars and angry grunts, they turn around and face her, which made Archer stop in fear. The adult bears and moose begin running after her and Archer becomes scared, she runs to the nearest tree and begins to climb, she pants and sweats as she struggled to climb up, but she made it.
Archer pants and looks down while scared, the adult bears reel up on their hind legs and grab the tree, they begin to shake it and Archer exclaimed as she was rocked back and forth, her arrows fall out of her quiver,
"No." Archer said as she saw them fall, birds soon fly to her and begin attacking her with their talons and beaks, she screams as they scratch and peck her, Archer falls off the tree branch and screams. Archer falls onto the ground and screams in pain when she hits the ground, the adult animals run and fly to her to attack her. Archer hears various animal noises and sees the baby animals running and flying to her, they begin attacking the adult animals to distract them, the birds work together to pick her up, Archer saw them pick up her arrows as well, they carry her away and the baby animals go with them, they run away and squeaks were heard, Archer looks and sees rats and mice calling for them, the birds put Archer down and the animals surround her.
The animals rub their heads on Archer while she laid on the ground, she breathed a little hard and was catching her breath, she lays down a bit and then begins to stand up slowly, she groans since she was still in a little pain, she stands up and sees her arrows, she puts them in her quiver,
"Thank you, all of you." Archer said, the animals smiled,
"You all should go hide, I'll deal with that pony, and I'll try to see if destroying her will free your parents. Go on now." Archer said, and the baby animals leave to hide from their mind controlled parents, Archer watched them leave and she went to go look for Anthropologist. Archer walks forward and was looking around, it was quiet, the ground below her gives away and Archer jumps back, the grass falls and Archer saw a hole filled with sharpened sticks in it, Archer sighs with relief and keeps walking forward, she feels ropes wrap around her hind legs and she exclaims with shock when she was pulled up. Archer was hanging upside-down while in the air, her helmet fell off, her arrows fell out of her quiver, she tries to bend down and reach for the rope tied around her hind hoofs,
"Come on." Archer said while grunting, she continues to grunt but could not reach the rope, so she decides try to pull her hind hoofs apart to break the rope, she could not, so she takes her bow off of her back and puts it between the space between her hind right hoof and the rope, she manages to break the rope apart and she falls. Archer hits the ground and falls again, she stands up and puts the arrows back in her quiver, she looks around more and sees adult birds flying around, she stands with her back to the tree while breathing a little loudly in fear, they fly by and Archer looks for Anthropologist. Archer puts her helmet back on and walks around the forest while scared, she could not see Anthropologist anywhere, so she tries to climb a nearby tree to look around but slides down, she tries to jump onto the tree branch like how Gunslinger does but she only got a few inches off of the ground, she let out an annoyed groan and was trying to think of something, she decides to keep walking and trips a cord that Anthropologist had in her tent, a bent stick flies forward and Archer screams as she jumps back from the stick swinging forward, it had sharpened sticks on it. Archer hears running and realized the mind controlled animals were coming to her, she gets scared and runs as fast as she could, she runs and hears flying to her left, she looks and sees Anthropologist coming to her, she flies to her and the mouth on her chest and abdomen opens, Archer ducks her head and the mouth grabs her helmet and takes it off, she looks and sees the mouth close and it destroys her helmet completely, scaring her, Anthropologist turns around and flies to Archer again, she tries to grab Archer with her claws, but Archer gets on her stomach and she misses, Archer quickly gets back up and fires an arrow at her, Anthropologist is hit in the back of her head, tentacles come out and they grab the arrow and pull it out, the tentacles drop the arrow while they went back into Anthropologist's head and the wound heals, much to Archer's shock.
Archer hears running and saw the adult animals have found her, she gets scared and runs on impulse while getting her arrow back and putting it back in her quiver, she keeps running and slides down a cliff, she exclaims as she swings her front legs around to stop herself, she did not, and she arrived at the bottom of the cliff. Archer tries to climb back up but could not, she sees the adult animals look at her and they leave, she sighs in relief but soon hears flying, she sees the mind controlled birds come after her, Archer got scared again and looked for a place to hide, she sees the shadows of trees nearby and she goes under them, she sees the birds fly around and look for her, they do not see her, so they fly down lower and look again, Archer hid under a tree while scared, she moves around slowly and hides in the shadows to avoid being detected by the birds, they stop after a while and fly away, Archer sighs in relief and goes on to look for Anthropologist.
Archer walks around and watches her surroundings for anymore traps, she looks around while scared and sees a patch of grass covering the ground, she realized it was a trap and walks around it, she looks and sees more baby animals hiding and watching her, she looks around and looks for Anthropologist and sees her nowhere, she keeps walking and comes out of the shadows, she saw the sun was setting, and it was darker, she decides to walk forward while looking around. Archer walks forward but comes to a steep ledge, she looks and sees Anthropologist in her sights, she was walking slowly towards a baby fox unaware of her presence, Archer quickly takes an explosive arrow out of her quiver and aims it, she fires the arrow and Anthropologist hears the arrow, she looks to her right and the arrow hits the log she was on, the arrow explodes and destroys the log while the baby fox escapes, Anthropologist flies after the baby fox and Archer chases her.
Anthropologist flies down and grabs the baby fox with her hind claws, the fox cries for help while Archer chases her, the baby animals hear the fox and they look, they saw Anthropologist flying away with it and Archer chasing her, Archer keeps running and was panting since she was nearly out of stamina from earlier, she sees baby birds fly after Anthropologist and attack her, she pushes herself to keep going but triggers a trap, a bent stick swings forward and hits Archer in her left chest, she screams and falls from the pain, several other birds arrive and hold her up and carry her, Archer pants and recovers, she sees Anthropologist in her sight, she takes out another explosive arrow and aims it at Anthropologist, even though her aim was shaky, she had a decent shot, she fires it and Anthropologist snarls in pain when the arrow explodes on her, she drops the baby fox and the baby birds fly down to catch it. All of the birds put Archer down and check her,
"I'm fine now, thank you, you all should go hide." Archer said, the baby animals all let out noises of protest,
"I'll deal with her on my own, I lost all hope already, so please, let me destroy her and save you all, it's the least I can do." Archer said, the animals leave and go hide while Archer walked farther into the woods to hunt down Anthropologist.
Archer walks through the woods and stops when she sees more skeletons of baby animals on the ground, Archer grieved over them and continued heading into the woods, she stops with shock when she saw the adult animals patrolling the area up ahead, she looks and saw Anthropologist was flying around as well, she realized Anthropologist was having the animals patrol the area and were looking for her, she was scared at the moment, but she thought about the baby animals and decided to go forward. Archer puts the bow on her back and gets onto her stomach, she begins to crawl forward and saw traps up ahead as well, she crawls around a patch of grass in front of her, she keeps going and sees rope tied in front of her, she looks and sees the rope was connected to a bent stick, she saw she could not crawl under it, she stands up and quietly walks over it, she gets back down onto her abdomen and crawls forward. Archer keeps crawling while looking around herself, she soon sees Anthropologist land to rest from flying, Archer gets the bow off of her back and holds it in her front left hoof and an explosive arrow out of her quiver with her front right hoof, she quickly stands up and fires the arrow, she hits Anthropologist and she snarls when the arrow exploded, the adult animals run and fly to where the arrow came from and Archer quickly runs away.
Archer tries to run but could not, her legs hurt as well, so she turned around and fired arrows at the animals, but it did nothing to them, Archer got scared and ran again, she runs and was over a patch of grass, it falls and Archer screams. Archer grabs onto an edge of the pit with her front hoofs, she looks down and saw sharpened sticks under her, she pants with fear when she saw the adult animals circling around her from above, she saw they were waiting for her to climb up so they can attack her, Archer becomes scared and sweats profusely, she looks and saw Anthropologist was waiting for her as well, she was smiling at her. Archer was hanging onto the ledge while scared since she saw the sharpened sticks below her waiting to stab her, and Anthropologist and the mind controlled animals above her waiting to eat her, Archer did not know what to do. Archer feels herself losing her grip on the edge she was grabbing, she soon loses her grip completely and begins to fall, she screams as she fell to the sticks. Archer begins to fall to the sticks, she lands and the sticks stab her, she screams in pain from what she felt, she was stabbed in her lower legs', but the sticks were not completely sharp, so it did not stab through her completely, she moves her legs around and breaks the sticks off, and stepped away from the other sticks carefully, she looks up and sees the animals and Anthropologist were still waiting for her. Archer gets an idea and sits on the ground in despair,
"It's hopeless, just eat me now." Archer said as she covered her face with her front hoofs, Anthropologist flies down and grabs Archer by her shoulders with her front legs, and she flies away. Archer looks at Anthropologist's body and sees small holes on her hoofs, she realized that was where the mind controlling parasites came from, she sees Anthropologist carry her to an isolated area far in the woods, she lifts Archer up and was about to eat her with the mouth on her abdomen and chest, but Archer struggles and eventually bucks Anthropologist in her abdomen, she snarls and drops Archer, she lands on a tree branch and climbs onto it. Archer sees Anthropologist flying down to her and opens her mouth, the three tentacles come out and were ready to eat her, Archer aims her bow and fires an explosive arrow, it enters Anthropologist's mouth and explodes, she snarls as she falls, Archer tries to climb down but her hoofs slide on the tree bark, which really hurt.
Archer lands on the ground and walks to Anthropologist while panting, she sees she was too injured to move at the time and was sitting on the ground,
"I have underestimated you." Anthropologist said,
"Why? You were my best friend." Archer replied,
"Friend? You were never my friend, you're a weakling, and an idiot." Anthropologist said, Archer was struck hard by her words,
"I am still willing to forgive you and put all of this behind us." Archer said,
"Oh, I am ready to put all of this behind me, alright." Anthropologist said, and Archer sees the adult animals come to her with some of them growling and snarling while Anthropologist smirked, Archer gets scared and quickly fires an explosive arrow at Anthropologist, it hits her in her clavicle and explodes, Archer is shot back and grunts while she falls onto the ground, she sits up and looks. Anthropologist falls over and she disintegrates completely, leaving no trace of herself behind,
"Wait! No! NO!!" Archer said as she saw the mind controlled animals disintegrate as well, Archer sobs loudly when they were gone, the animals hear her and go to her, she looks and sees them,
"I couldn't free them, killing the one controlling them killed them as well." Archer said tearfully, the baby animals let out noises of grief while Archer cried, she stops a while after the animals stopped and saw she was lost, so she just sits in defeat and despair. Archer sits while the animals left and she soon hears running to her right,
"Archer? Archer?" Shining Armor called out, Archer becomes surprised and stands up,
"Archer! Where are you?" Shining Armor asked loudly, she hears zaps and saw a pink light, she sees he was destroying the traps, he keeps running he was soon in her sight,
"Archer!" Shining Armor said while he ran to her, she was surprised to see he has come out so far to look for her. Shining Armor runs to her and hugs her while Archer had tears roll down her face,
"Oh, thank goodness, I was worried you were dead." Shining Armor said, and he lets go of her,
"How did you find me?" Archer asked,
"I was worried when your unit except for you and Consigliere came back, so I decided to go look for you myself when those four said you and her got attacked by a wild animal, and they ran away to escape being eaten, a few birds also flew to Fluttershy and told her what happened, and she told me, that is why I came." Shining Armor replied,
"Wait, the baby animals." Archer said,
"I know, they told us about Consigliere and what she really was, we know what happened, help will be arriving for them soon." Shining Armor replied, Archer hears flapping and saw Fluttershy arrive with bags of food, she lands nearby,
"I'm here, everycreature, I came as fast as I could." Fluttershy said, and she saw the baby animals going to her and eat while sad, some of them cried as well,
"Oh, I am so sorry about what happened to your parents, that big mean creature sounded scary, too, I'll be taking you all to my home shortly after you all are fed." Fluttershy said, Archer becomes surprised and relieved,
"Let's go home." Shining Armor said, and he leads Archer back to civilization. Archer was taken to a hospital in the Crystal Empire and she was bandaged up at her legs' and still in tears over what happened, she remained there for a few days. Archer was walking around the Crystal Empire and Shining Armor ran to her, she sees him to his left and smiles,
"Archer, your letter of inheritance came while you were practicing leading a unit." Shining Armor said, and Archer takes the envelope. Archer smiles while reading but soon stops smiling, she read Shooter's and Quiver's will, she reads that they were in debt when they were still alive, and while Gunslinger will inherit all of their money and use it however he wishes, Archer will inherit their debt, and she has to pay them off, which was two hundred thousand bits. Archer puts her head on the ground and begins bawling, Shining Armor becomes worried and takes the letter with his telekinesis, he reads it and becomes very shocked, he runs away for a minute. Archer continues to cry, ignoring the running coming to her from her left,
"Archer." Shining Armor said, Archer looks and saw him coming with a lot of bits, Princess Cadence was running behind Shining Armor,
"Here, go ahead and take my money, just go to the debt collector in this empire and pay him, you've been through enough." Shining Armor said, Archer calms down and takes the bits to the debt collector to pay while Shining Armor and Princess Cadence watch with sorrow. A few hours pass after Archer paid off the debts and she was standing outside behind Shining Armor, who was reprimanding Xenophobe, Macho, Mean Streak, and Old Hag, she looks down with sorrow while Princess Cadence stood to her right and had her front left hoof on Archer's right shoulder,
"You four should be ashamed of yourselves! I have never seen such disobedient guards join our ranks, all four of you disobeyed your superior because of what kind of pony she is, her gender, her background, and her age, you four also abandoned her when she was in danger, and trapped her there so she could not escape! You four have made fun of her and hurt her feelings, so all four of you, hand over your uniforms and rank insignia, all four of you are dismissed and fired!" Shining Armor said angrily, they give him their uniforms and rank insignias and walk away with no regrets. Shining Armor walks over to Archer,
"Go ahead and take a few weeks off, Archer, I think you deserve a vacation, Cadence and I already have a house for you." Shining Armor said,
"Thank you, captain." Archer replied in a soft and sad tone,
"This way, Archer." Princess Cadence said,
"Wait, can you do a background check on Anthropologist really quickly, captain?" Archer asked,
"Of course, hold on a minute." Shining Armor replied, and he casts a spell, he finishes a minute later,
"She and Archaeologist were once friendly ponies who liked exploring, but when exploring an ancient temple in the woods, Archaeologist rushed them into a room and they were heard screaming, they came out and were like completely different ponies, the native ponies said they had entered the room where two deadly parasites were in, it entered through their noses, went into their brains, and took control of them, they were heard trying to fight back as well." Shining Armor said, Archer began to feel bad,
"Well, that's all, go on and take a break, Archer." Shining Armor said, and Princess Cadence leads Archer to her new home.
Archer was sitting across from Doctor Whooves with tears in her eyes and he finishes reading the report,
"When did this happen, Archer?" Doctor Whooves asked,
"Just after Princess Twilight and her friends came back from that town controlled by Starlight Glimmer." Archer replied,
"Ah, so around the same time the male one was met." Doctor Whooves said,
"WHAT?! There's two of them?!" Archer asked with horror,
"Archer, relax, the male one has already been destroyed, too." Doctor Whooves replied,
"Really? What happened to him?" Archer asked,
"Gunslinger got him." Doctor Whooves replied, Archer becomes very surprised,
"Big brother?" Archer asked, Doctor Whooves nods, Archer was still surprised,
"Say, um, what about that pony you tried to buy a snow globe from?" Doctor Whooves asked,
"I'm not apologizing to him." Archer replied,
"Okay, well, go ahead and wipe your tears away, Archer, you're safe now, come here." Doctor Whooves said, and he hugs her to comfort her since he can see she was still upset, she hugged him back and still had tears roll down her eyes, the two let go of one another,
"Price is ten bits." Doctor Whooves said, and Archer pays him and leaves while Doctor Whooves gets ready to send his report to Shining Armor. Archer walks to Fluttershy's cottage and the baby animals she met in the forest run and fly to her,
"Hey, good to see you all again." Archer said as she petted them, Fluttershy walks to her,
"They talk about you all day, I'm surprised you actually understand them." Fluttershy said,
"I worked at an animal shelter when I was a kid, I grew up with animals." Archer replied,
"Really? That's wonderful, I'm glad to see I'm not the only pony who cares about animals." Fluttershy said,
"Well, I'm just here to make sure they're okay, I'll be leaving soon." Archer replied,
"They've been fine, I've been taking good care of them." Fluttershy said,
"Thank you, I might stop by to check on them again another day." Archer replied,
"Please do, they really miss you." Fluttershy said,
"Okay, well, I have to get home, bye now." Archer replied,
"Goodbye." Fluttershy said, and Archer went back to her home.
Archer sits at home and saw the royal guard ball was tonight, and she decides to attend it, so she gets ready for it, she puts on a simple bright pink sleeveless dress that went down to her hoofs, she also wore bright pink high heel shoes that glittered on all four of her hoofs, she did not style her mane and tail because she liked having them down, she heads to the castle.
It was night time and the ball began, Shining Armor wore his red uniform and danced with another mare, who seemed to be a close friend, Archer watches and Shining Armor sees her, he finishes dancing with the mare and looks at Archer, who had a longing face, Shining Armor smiles and takes her front hoofs and they start dancing together. Archer waltz dances with Shining Armor and she felt elated, she dances with him and smiles, she sees the ponies were all switching their dance partners and realized it was a friendship dance, she smiles and dances with Shining Armor for the time,
"I got your file from Doctor Whooves already, Archer, I'm sorry about how hard you had it growing up as a foal, but tell me, why do you have feelings for me?" Shining Armor asked,
"Because you are the first stallion besides my brother who has actually been nice and caring towards me." Archer replied,
"Ah, that's why, I'm sorry, Archer, but romance is not that simple, and I met Cadence long before I met you." Shining Armor said,
"Am I still allowed to be close to you?" Archer asked,
"Of course, just as long as you don't act weird, my daughter seems to like you as well." Shining Armor replied, Archer smiled,
"Well, let's dance a bit more." Shining Armor said, and the two do, they danced until Princess Cadence arrived, she was wearing a short-sleeve purple gown,
"Sorry, Archer, but my wife's here, we have to stop dancing." Shining Armor said,
"No, it's fine, Shining Armor, I'll take over." Princess Cadence replied,
"What?" Archer asked,
"Come on, Archer, let's dance, as friends." Princess Cadence said, Archer was hesitant but danced with Princess Cadence and they enjoyed it, they hugged each other at the end and Shining Armor and Princess Cadence danced together while Archer felt happy and began drinking fruit punch until the ball ended.
The next day comes and Archer was in her home and eating honey buns, she was paid bits during her time off and she would spend it on more sweets and cosmetics, she also kept her home extremely clean, she finishes her morning routine and went outside, she boards the train and goes back to Ponyville. Archer arrives back in Ponyville and runs to Doctor Whooves,
"Excuse me, doctor." Archer said, Doctor Whooves turns around and sees Archer,
"Ah, back already, do you need something?" Doctor Whooves asked,
"Yes, where is my brother?" Archer asked,
"Follow me, I'll take you to him." Doctor Whooves replied, and they board the train again and it goes north. Doctor Whooves and Archer get off the train and leads Archer to the town where Gunslinger works, she sees him outside with foals at his orphanage, she smiles while Doctor Whooves boarded the train to go back home. Archer runs to Gunslinger while he was with the foals,
"Big brother." Archer said, Gunslinger turns around and sees her coming, she arrives to him,
"I've been wondering what you've been doing, you haven't contacted in years." Archer said,
"Busy." Gunslinger replied,
"Doing what?" Archer asked,
"Selling candy and running an orphanage." Gunslinger replied,
"Who is this, Gunslinger?" a green filly asked,
"Archer, my sister." Gunslinger replied,
"What do you do?" a blue colt asked,
"I serve in the royal guard." Archer replied, the foals become excited,
"What happened to you, Gunslinger, I thought you were going to college." Archer said,
"I chose not to be what our parents wanted me to be." Gunslinger replied,
"What? How come?" Archer asked,
"I hated mom and dad, too." Gunslinger replied, Archer becomes surprised,
"Well, what happened to these foals' parents?" Archer asked,
"Dead." Gunslinger replied,
"What happened?" Archer asked,
"Archaeologist got them." a yellow colt said,
"Wait, that reminds me, I met his sister when I was in the royal guard, her name was Anthropologist." Archer said, scaring the foals,
"Was she a pink creature with yellow claws, too?" an orange filly asked,
"Yes." Archer replied, the foals begin to exclaim with fear,
"It's okay, I destroyed her." Archer said, the foals become relieved,
"Hold on." Gunslinger said, and he goes into the orphanage and gets the picture of Archaeologist and a female Pegasus, he shows it to Archer and the foals,
"Yeah, that's her." Archer said, and Gunslinger puts the photo away,
"I heard you destroyed the male one." Archer said,
"Yes." Gunslinger replied,
"It's okay, Gunslinger, I got the other one." Archer said, the foals smile excitedly,
"What was Archaeologist doing?" Archer asked,
"Killing and eating children." Gunslinger replied, Archer becomes horrified,
"Was Anthropologist eating children, too?" a purple filly asked,
"No, she killed and ate baby animals." Archer replied, the foals become horrified,
"It's okay, kids, they're both gone." Archer said, and they feel happier again,
"Well, I have to go back to work tomorrow, so hold on." Archer said, and she reaches into her saddlebag and takes sweets out,
"Here you kids go." Archer said, and the foals take them and thank her, which made her smile,
"I have to go home now, I'll try to come here if I have the time." Archer said, and she leaves while the foals say bye to her, she saw the train was far away, so she decides to walk back to the Crystal Empire.
Archer was in her home and putting her royal guard uniform on, she got a new helmet since Anthropologist destroyed her original one, she puts her uniform on and heads out while smiling to resume her job as a royal guard, positive that her life will finally get better.
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Why did you make the chapters so long?
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Each chapter is a different story.