The New Blood, the Samurai, & the Gangster
Fourteen Weeks Later – Ponyville, Ponyville Train Station; 11:00am
Roughly three months has went by since Pristine’s rescue from the mercenary group called, the Iron Lions, because of this incident, not only has Equestria’s border guard had went through some new changes, but security within the core of Equestria too.
The fact that a third-party sneaked their way into the center of Equestria, managing to set up operations within Canterlot in secret, kidnapped a pony, and involved in several crimes that would have caused an international incident. After that incident, Celestia and Luna have sent several envoys – by magic and through representatives – to the Griffon Lands to get answers about this, though the chances they had anything to do with the mercenaries is slim to none.
Considering incidents like this may happen in the future, Celestia granted First Lieutenant Orion’s request for more guards. Originally Orion was supposed to get more guards during the start of the year, but was delayed – mostly due to the no need for more guards sent to a small town and being near the capital – but, after the kidnapping his request was granted, that and it was to add security around the Elements… and other reasons.
The new transfer of guards was a total of twelve – four unicorns, three pegasi, three thestrals, and two earth ponies – six each going to both the Royal Guard and Lunar Guard. While all of the new guards each had varying skills and talents unique to them, there were a few individuals who caught the attention of Orion.
The first indivual that caught Orion’s interest is, Second Lieutenant Meltdown – a Royal Guard Hero who’s a notable unicorn with magical power equal to Captain Shining Armor, as well as an excellent military strategist. He first got Orion’s attention when he spotted his transfer request to Ponyville prior to Eclipse’s expedition to San Palomino Desert. Professionally, he’s well known to both the troops and officers of both guard organizations, but personally he has no knowledge to who he is or what he’s like on and off duty.
The second individual is, Sergeant Midnight Sun – a fellow sergeant from the Lunar Guard like Ves, unlike her though, Midnight is strict than lax compared to Ves. There is one problem however, with the two being of the same rank, the one in charge of the Lunar Guard will be complicating, though the obvious answer is that seniority ranks the other, with Ves being the senior member among the guards stationed in Ponyville.
There is also Fang, who was promoted to Sergeant after assisting Eclipse during his expedition, but due to him having both professional and personal ties with Ves and the other Lunar Guards, he has no reason to seek a leadership role among the Lunar Guards in Ponyville.
The third, fourth, and fifth individuals aren’t remarkable in any way except for one detail, they’re the relatives of Clear Sight – Private E-2 Sharp Sight, Clear’s younger brother, while he’s only been in the guard for a short while, is talented just like his sister, alongside him is their cousin, Private E-1 Sharp Wing and his step-brother, Private E-1 Sharp Arrow.
Talent-wise their above the standard guard, but still need some improvements under other aspects, the only other interesting fact about them is they belong to two ancient pegasus warrior tribes – the Sharp Clan and Sight Clan – but after the three pony tribes united together, they assimilated as a part of the UEA (United Equestrian Army), the precursor to the Royal Guard.
Since both families were purely military families, it wasn’t that surprising if all their children joined the military, however, if they chose any other occupation, it would either be in industry and trade, or politics.
Right now, Orion, Ves, Clear, and Twilight with Spike awaited at train station platform for departures, awaiting the newest wave of guards to come. The train was soon approaching, unlike the first wave of guards who arrived mostly on their own, this wave arrived with some civilians, not many, but it took awhile until they could spot any of the new guards.
Once they managed to organize themselves, the twelve guards split up with Meltdown ahead of the new Royal Guard members and Midnight ahead of the new Lunar Guard members. Both groups gave a salute to Orion and company, both Meltdown and Midnight stepping forward.
“Second Lieutenant Meltdown of the 1st Ponyville Platoon of the Royal Guard, reporting,” said Meltdown, giving a professional salute.
“Sergeant Midnight Sun of the 1st Ponyville Platoon of the Lunar Guard, reporting!” said Midnight, sternly.
“At ease, thank you for joining the Ponyville Guard branch, we’ve been waiting for awhile for more guards to be sent,” said Orion.
“We thought we had to await another year for more to arrive,” said Ves, trotting beside Orion. For a short second, Midnight gave a sneer, which quickly vanished as she returned to her professional look.
Ves however caught this. My, my, somepony is a tad bit stiff.
“Before we proceed further on, there’s something I have to report to you sir,” said Meltdown. “Between the guard transfer that was supposed to be on January but delayed to April, we’ve received… some interesting entries for the guard.”
Raising his brow, Orion further questioned what does Meltdown mean. “New guards? This wasn’t mentioned to me, I would of heard of new transfers being sent here.”
“Not transfers sir… Rather some new guard members from outside the country wish to join.”
Wait, did he say, members from outside the country?
“Um, excuse me, Sir Meltdown, but what do you mean by ‘outside the country’?” asked Twilight, curious.
“Best you see yourself,” said Meltdown, stepping aside. Once he stepped aside, he revealed six individuals that both surprised and intrigued those present.
Standing in a row, from left to right is a unicorn, a gryphon, another unicorn, a diamond dog, a minotaur, and a pegasus. Each one introduced themselves, starting with the unicorn, who lookedsimilar to a rose – her mane and tail were a dark red, her fur close between a dark green and black, with brown eyes while her cutiemark is a rose covered in barbs.
“Greetings, my name is Barbed Rose, I’m from one of the settlements within Northern Equestria, I was given a recommendation from a retired guard who lived in my village to join the guard. To be honest I had no interest joining, but I heard this is the least boring place south of my home.”
After done introducing herself, next was the griffon, he was possibly the oldest one among the six, as he was a basic mix of eagle-lion, with several old scars, one above his right eye and a crack around his beak, his eyes were a dull silver, now looking similar to gray.
“Name’s Quick Feather, I’m an ex-guard from the Griffon Lands, I came here after joining an exchange program halfway through my time being a part of the griffon military. Since then I’ve stayed stationed in Trottingham, but wanted a change in scenery… I’m sure a town close to the capital will change my day-to-day pace…”
Next is the second unicorn, she had a mane bouncy like Pinkie’s, but her tail was somewhat more slimmer – her mane and tail is light blue with lime green lines, her fur is white similar to Rarity’s, while having pink eyes, her cutie-mark is several bubbles of various colors.
“Heya! I’m Bubble Pop, I come from Prance as both a transfer and representative of my homeland! Hope we all become friends and companions for peace and love!”
The next ones were both the diamond dog and minotaur – the diamond dog looked like your average diamond dog, the only other differences is he’s less scruffier, while having a lean build is quicker, but definitely has musculature under that fur, and unlike having a dog-like face is more similar to a husky’s while his ears are larger than they normally are, with green eyes. The minotaur has a brownish hide with light yellow splotches around his arms and face, his horns are curled upwards and behind him, his eyes are a faint yellow.
“Greetings, I am Light Tap, my companion here goes by the name of Heavy Ear, I wish to join the guard within Equestria, while my companion is here to follow me. While my kind are known for their violent nature, my ideals and views on life are closer to you ponies, but my skill-set would be a problem if I were to become a part of pony society. So the only solution was to join a more… acceptable occupation toward my skills.”
This was surprising to hear that a minotaur with similar ideals like ponies, while it made Orion and the others pause for a minute in thought, they soon had to pay attention to the next and final individual to introduce.
The last individual is a pegasus, he was very bland, as his mane and tail were a simple black while, he had blue fur and green eyes, his cutie-mark is a pair of pegasus wings.
“Um, name’s Flight… I’m from Saddle Arabia… nice to meet you…”
“What reason do you have for wanting to join the guard and come to Equestria?” asked Orion.
“None really, I was wandering place to place back in Saddle Arabia… wanted a change of location and to see new sights… I heard about the exchange program like the griffon here, so I thought I join too… nothing special about me.”
At that moment Quick gave a raise of his brow, but it was for a short moment before he went back to parade stance, facing forward. After some further checks from both Meltdown and each of the six personal files, Orion and his entourage led the new wave of guards to their new barracks that was recently built.
The new barracks is three times larger than the one built in town, so it could accommodate the current guards, new guards, and more guards to come. This recent addition to the town had a similar layout to the old barracks; other than the fact it was larger, this one had a roof floor which was open to the public and could be rented for events, there are also several new facilities.
The newer facilities is a garage for carriage located in the first floor, also a part of the railway is connected to this new guard barracks, which is used for the personal transportation of supplies and guards directly to the barracks rather through the local train station.
In the second floor is a personal medical facility to be used for the guards or in emergencies any civilians, a communication crystal facility has been installed to allow contact to Canterlot – and future areas once proper connections have been made. A second basement has been built for the sole purpose as a vault, but unlike the one in the old barracks, this one is to keep any dangerous artifacts or items of interest until to deemed safe or transported to either Canterlot or Manehattan.
The arrangement of guard positioning was rearranged, with the higher ranked guards moving to the new barracks, while lower ranked guards will be stationed at the old barracks, unless the original guard wish to keep their old rooms or move to the new barracks.
Both the new guards and reserve guards look in amazement at their new base of operations, the only ones moving out of the old barracks is Orion, Clear Sight, Ves, and Fang. So the ones being stationed in the old barracks now are – Crystal, Yin, Yang, Soapstone, Heart Beat, Mango, Fruit Basket, Barbed Rose, Heavy Ear, and Flight, with Iris and Light Tap being the two higher ranked guards stationed in the barracks.
The new barracks will station the majority of the guards, but in order of rank and group, the guards are split into three groups.
The Royal Guard consist of First Lieutenant Orion Grey and his new and current second-in-command, Second Lieutenant Meltdown, next is the newly promoted, Sergeant First Class Clear Sight, then the guards other than the old ones are – Private E-2 Sharp Sight, Private E-1 Forest Shield, Private E-1 Sharp Arrow, Private E-1 Sharp Wing, and Private E-1 Fast Shot – with all the old guards being their original rank, other than Heart Beat who was promoted from Private E-1 to Private First Class.
The Lunar Guard consisted originally of only four members – Ves, Fang, Mango, and Fruit Basket – now their numbers have doubled, the newer members consist of a total of ten Lunar Guards – they area, Sergeant Midnight Sun, Corporal Night Rain, Corporal Shadow Fog, Specialist Silent Blaze, Private First Class Windstorm, and Private E-1 Bob – alongside them, the original members are the same rank still except for Fang who was previously Specialist and is now Sergeant.
The Reserve Guard are not officially part of either guard group and won’t be officially part of the Equestrian military until they served exactly six months and become a part of at least one guard operation. None of the six have a rank until they completed their respective requirements, so are only referred to as, “Reservists”.
While they’re told to leave their belongings in the recreation room in the new barracks, the tour came to an end and all the guards were being led to the training grounds located at Eclipse’s Property. While they’re being led there, some of the guards begin to have their own conversations, but three in particular appear to be the main focuses of all the guards questions – and the perspectives of three varying groups within the newer members.
While ahead of the group is Orion, Ves, Clear, Meltdown, Midnight, Twilight, and Spike, the other guards followed behind closely, among said guards, three particular stallions were talking with one another. Sharp Sight, member of the Sight clan and Clear’s younger brother, spoke with his two cousins – Sharp Arrow and Sharp Wing.
“Hey Sharp, when was the last time you spoke or seen your sister?” asked Arrow.
“A long time ago…” said Sharp, muttering. “I don’t understand why she wanted to be stationed a place in the middle of Equestria, she could of picked locations way better than here.”
“I wouldn’t called Ponyville, the ‘middle of Equestria’ its home to the heroines of Equestria – the Mane 6 – not to mention this place gets way more activity than the bigger settlements like Canterlot, Manehattan, or Cloudsdale, being built beside the Everfree Forest and all,” said Wing, factually.
“I know I know… its just… she was given such better opportunities, heck, I heard she was given a chance to join Celestia’s elite guard, not many ponies get the chance to join them. When I heard the news I thought she would accept the invitation immediately… not, be stationed in some small-time town.”
I don’t see what exactly could have caught her eye here of all places, I mean its one thing to see the new guard barracks built in a town that’s never had guards stationed here before, but after her staying for a week I thought she come back… but no, instead I our family gets a letter of her permanent stay in Ponyville and her denial of joining the elites! I’ll find out what reason made her stay… even if I have to force her back home.
Elsewhere among the group, Midnight trotted with two of her fellow thestrals, Night and Shadow, while Midnight kept quiet, the subtle glare she was giving to Ves was deeply noticed by the other two.
“I see Midnight is disliking our senior member, what’s wrong this time Sun?” asked Night.
“How can somepony this childish be the one in charge of the Lunar Guard, I know the Lunar Guard doesn’t have many officers with Luna’s recent return, but how come out of all the guards picked she was chosen to lead the Lunar Guards stationed here,” said Midnight, a frown on her face.
“Well, let’s not forget that the three of us joined the guard the same time and that Ves has been part of the guard before Luna’s return and that she’s in equal skill as the lieutenant.”
“I heard the only reasons she sergeant is because back then, thestrals weren’t widely accepted among the guard… there’s also the rumors she’s gotten into plenty of fights with other guards,” said Night.
“Regardless, she may had been stationed here longer, but we both share the same rank, so we both have authority when it comes to Lunar Guard choices here…” Midnight trotted ahead, her two companions looking at one another with a mix of worry and apprehension.
At the far back, the six reservists walked together, while neither of them know one another – except for the minotaur and diamond dog – they were in the same one-week course given to them back in Canterlot. The course itself was a simple run-down on basic Equestrian military training and the location they were being transported too; since the only ones with any military background are Bubble Pop and Quick Feather, their training was slightly different, but they still trained with the others.
The first to speak surprisingly is Flight, the skittish pegasus looking left and right as if he expects the boogeymare to pop up any second. To make him relax, Quick placed a wing on top of the young stallion, the sudden contact making him jump, but calm once he saw who it was.
“Calm down Flight, we’re just going to see where we’re going be training for our stay in this quaint town. No need to worry,” said Quick.
“Tha-anks, its just…”
“We know Flight, the only reason you joined is because you had no skills whatsoever other than you’re a pretty decent flier – not enough to join the Wonderbolts, but enough to be above your average pegasus – so you had no choice, but to join the guard… You’re lucky that Quick recommended you to join the exchange program when he met you back at… what town were you stationed at Quick?” asked Rose.
“Trottingham, I was part of the Griffon Military two months ago, until I joined an exchange program to be stationed in one of Equestria’s towns… and I was the only one to accept moving countries.”
“How come you moved exactly, Feather?” asked Tap.
“I’ve been part of the Griffon Military for twenty-seven years, I’m forty-five, my homeland is falling apart… heck there’s barely a military back home at all. There’s barely any jobs left home and joining another country’s military was better than being some farmer in Equestria. Look, there are those who join the military out of some obligation to family or country… and then there are those who have nowhere to go… in all honesty, when I met you Flight, you looked you could barely walk on your own legs, so I suggested you join the guard and would you know it, they needed some fresh bodies in some town called Ponyville.”
“Yeah, we all have our reasons for joining and pick this place, me… well, just like Quicky here, I joined the exchange program, though not the same time as him, I had to deal with some things before I could come to Equestria, so don’t worry Flight, we all got each others back,” said Pop, smiling.
After seeing that smile, Flight gave one of his own, albeit it was a bit small and awkward, but he felt some comfort at knowing that these strangers would have each others’ back. Heavy grunted, saying some in dimondian to Tap, the minotaur speaking in turn until facing the others.
“Heavy can smell we’re nearing out destination,” said Tap.
“And how can he tell?” asked Rose.
“The area ahead has the same scent he caught on the two called Orion and Ves, we’re nearing the place where the guards go to train.”
“Then we better get ready, let’s go.”
The six soon followed the rest of the guard entourage, heading to the sounds of grunts and training weapons hitting other weapons or ponies. Passing some trees, they come upon several ponies training with either wooden swords, spears, and other gear for the purpose of training.
Several ponies and thestrals were training on some flat ground, with zero rocks or other obstructions that may cause tripping or any injuries to occur, with the only injuries they would get is some light bruises and sore muscles.
The ones training are Yin and Yang facing each other with swords, Iris who was practicing her magic on a training dummy, Heart Beat helping Fruit Basket with doing some reps with some dumb-bells. At the far edge of the training area is several mares sat on a picnic blanket watching the guards training, Twilight’s friends enjoying some snacks prepared for the group to enjoy.
While watching the guards did catch the newcomers attention, what got everypony intrigued was a CQC match between five guards, or rather, four guards and an unfamiliar stallion. The only reason this caught everypony’s attention was the fact that four of the guards were facing off against the fifth individual, to those who don’t know their names it would look like an unfair match… to those who knew who was facing who, it was equally matched up.
Eclipse sat crossed-legged on the ground, his opponents were Fang, Mango, Crystal, and Soapstone – two thestrals, one earth pony, and one unicorn – since magic was forbidden in this match, the only ones that anypony would need to worry about is Soapstone and Fang. While it was obvious to watch out for Soapstone, him being an earth pony, the reason anypony who fought against Fang when it came to CQC to be worried is because he’s the one CQC expert among the guards – even the newcomers. The only ones to beat him or have a chance with him is Ves, Orion, or Clear… that is if you only include the guards, Eclipse was a different story all together.
While many of the guards watched to the sidelines, Orion, Ves, Meltdown, Twilight, Spike, Clear, and Midnight stood with Twilight’s friends. Seeing the unfair match, Midnight approached Ves expecting to know why their allowing this kind of match to happen.
“First Lieutenant Orion, sir! Why are you allowing this training match to happen with fellow guards, a one vs four match is not only unfair, but unethical, this is overkill, sir!?”
Ves watched, but rather than letting Orion, she approached Midnight with her own stern look. “Sergeant Midnight, if you must know, that pony is no ordinary pony and he’s not a guard.”
“You’re letting a civilian train with the guards!”
“That ‘civilian’ is the owner of this training area, not only do we have to pay him for using this area, but he’s trained and a skilled fighter. If I were you, I see for yourself what’s consider unfair and fair with your own eyes… you might learn something from this experience.”
“And what might that be, Sergeant Ves?” asked Midnight, with a glare.
“That not everything is what it appears on the surface…”
At those words, Midnight glared at Ves but faced the CQC match, the four guards positioned themselves, with Crystal circling to stand behind Eclipse, Soapstone and Fang circling from the left and right, while Mango flew up and positioned at the front. Eclipse stayed sat crossed-legged, but soon stood up and to the confusion of those new here, stood on his rear-hooves.
“What’s he doing,” asked Arrow. Sharp soon silenced him as he watched with a bit interest and wondering who this stallion was.
A calm soon came as the other guards who were training stopped what they were doing to watch, some even betting, but not who would win… but who’s going to stand last.
Eclipse had his eyes closed the entire time, the four guards looked at one another and Fang signaled them all to move. Soapstone charged forth with Crystal matching him next, Mango flew up higher and dived down, with Fang watching but, circling to stand in front of Eclipse.
To those watching it felt like the world was moving at normal speed, to Eclipse… everything froze; with a deep inhale, his eyes slowly opened, with an exhale, he made his move. Just before the match began, Eclipse set up some music for the guards to listen to… the next song that began to play just as the match began, would fit best to what was happening and what was going to happen – total utter chaos.
Just as Soapstone got close, Eclipse tilted backwards, easily dodging his hoof-punch, but just as Crystal was coming up from behind him, with a slight push of his rear-hooves, he jumped up and over Crystal in a backwards flip. Now in the air and seeing Mango diving right towards him, just as Mango made contact with Eclipse, he grabbed his outstretch hooves and slammed him into the now confused Soapstone and Crystal, causing the three to get into a pony pile.
Landing behind the three, Fang took his chance to act, with a power flap of his wings boosting himself toward Eclipse. The two fought one another, Fang on the offensive while Eclipse on the defensive, blocking punches and kicks, pushing them aside, or simply dodging, no matter what Fang did he couldn’t get a good hit on Eclipse.
Just as he thought he was about to hit him, Eclipse spun around, grabbed Fang by the scruff of his neck and threw him at a now standing trio of stallions, only to meet the ground once more, luckily Mango got up quickly, only to meet a dropkick from him. Tumbling on the ground, Mango came face first to the ground, in a daze and unconscious.
Next to get up were Soapstone and Crystal, while Fang dash backwards to give himself some space. Eclipse made his next move by rushing up to Crystal. Not expecting this move, he was getting ready when Eclipse changed targets to Soapstone, who was not expecting this.
Doing a quick jab in reaction to Eclipse’s sudden approach, he dodged the jab, grabbing Soapstone’s outstretched limb, pulling him in close. Once he got face-to-face with him, Eclipse headbutted him from below the chin, soon he was seeing stars when a sudden pain was felt around his stomach.
Eclipse finished his assault by thrusting his hoof into Soapstone’s stomach, watching spittle come out his mouth until falling flat on his stomach. This all happened so fast that Crystal could do nothing but watch, that is until it was his turn.
Just before Eclipse could land a hit, Fang came in rushing in from his blind-spot, though all this did was get Eclipse away from Crystal, as he simply rolled backwards to face the two.
Rather than fighting separately now, the two remaining fighters charged Eclipse together; Fang started the charge with Crystal following behind him. Eclipse pushed one of Fang’s jabs and blocked any follow-up attacks, when Crystal came up next, Eclipse opened himself to his attack.
At first everyone assumed Eclipse finally got hit, when Crystal couldn’t move his hoof back, as Eclipse wrapped both his fore-hooves around his. Planting both his rear-hooves to the ground, Eclipse lifted Crystal up and began twirling around until he tossed him toward Fang.
Rather than catching his teammate, Fang dodged to the side as Crystal was tossed into the crowd, some getting out of the way except for one earth-pony… who simply watched as Crystal slammed into his sizable chest, sliding down before his hooves.
Fang quickly faced Eclipse, but the stallion simply stood in place until he got to a fighting position, signaling his one hoof toward Fang. Accepting the challenge, the two stood in ready stance and face one another; the two stood and stare for who knows how long until one or the other broke.
Soon the dam reached its limit and something came loose, the two charged, each giving and receiving their fair share of blows and hits. Deciding enough was enough, Fang grappled Eclipse and tried to fly both himself and him to the sky. Watching the two fighters now in mid-air, it was hard to tell who would win now.
Fang was ready to slam him full-force into the ground, when Eclipse did something else, reaching around he grabbed the back of Fang’s head, blocking his view. Tried his best to struggle free from the sudden hold, Eclipse flipped him over until Fang had his back facing the ground with Eclipse on top.
Letting go of his head, Eclipse kicked him in the barrel then just before Fang could get his wits, he grabbed him by his wings and stood on him in the air.
“Should of stayed fighting me in the ground, you had a better chance than taking me to the sky,” said Eclipse. “Game match.”
With that, a cloud of dust appeared where both Eclipse and Fang crashed into, once the dust cleared, Eclipse walked away on all fours with Fang laying flat on a small crater. Eclipse headed to his saddlebags, until he pulled out a green crystal, tossing it to Fang.
“Put that around your wings anywhere sore, won’t fix broken bones, but it should ebb the pain for a professional to check you,” said Eclipse.
“You know… sometimes I wonder if you’ve done this before or not… but I’m guessing my answer will be the same each time…”
“I have… but I won’t say.”
“And I rest my case… Ow.”
As those who fought in the match also got their own crystals and got checked by some of the medical-trained guards, Orion got everyone’s attention to gather around. Eclipse made his way to a stool with his equipment nearby, grabbing his pair of dual swords, he pulled a whetstone and some tools, checking and maintaining his weapons as he sat on the stool.
The newer batch of guards were curious why Eclipse was joining them, not knowing yet he wasn’t a guard or affiliated with the guard other than they’re paying him to rent his place whenever. After Orion got the first wave of guards to stand on one side and the second and third waves to stand on the other, he began to do introductions.
“Ponyville Guards! I like you to meet your new fellow brothers and sisters, at this very moment, we are official at the required amount to be considered a platoon! Welcome, to the 1st Ponyville Platoon, we will take a thirty-minute recess for everyone to get to know each other, then we’ll meet back at the new barracks so everyone will get the updated schedules!”
As everyone got to know each other, it was then that Meltdown approached Eclipse, who continued to do maintenance on his weapons. All of the guards watched this happened, those who knew Eclipse wondering how this interaction will go and those who don’t know Eclipse will wonder how Meltdown act towards him.
It was to everyone’s shock that Meltdown began to bow respectfully toward Eclipse, when he didn’t join the others in parade stance and wasn’t scolded by any of the officers… that is until they heard what Meltdown said next.
“You must be ‘the’ Eclipse Light – fought against the Holy Sun Church’s forces, fought one of their highly trained paladins, even came to blows with High Paladin Shining Might himself… I’ve also heard of your travels through the San Palomino Desert, facing those mercenaries, and helping the guard with an operation to save a noble’s daughter from those same mercenaries – you’re deeds have been heard as far as Luna Bay and from that spectacle earlier, it was definitely not an exaggeration either.”
Many of the newer guards began muttering to each after hearing that, some asking who this Eclipse pony is, those who heard telling them what they heard, and so on. Even though after seeing what they saw earlier there were still many doubters among them, but hearing from a guard celebrity like Meltdown, it was hard to say if what he said was true or not.
Even after speaking, Eclipse continued to do maintenance, not moving his sight away from his swords, as he began sharpening the blades with the whetstone. Some of the guards who were still confused asked the guards stationed here longer than they had who Eclipse was.
“Eclipse is a civilian hired by the princesses themselves to help the Ponyville Guard with renting his land to train, as well as other duties,” said Fang, now covered in bandages.
“Yeah, he’s also a very successful business-pony, heard he has deals as far as Dodge Junction,” said Mango, joining the conversation.
“If you were to toss in ever guard stationed here – not including the newer arrivals – we wouldn’t manage to take him down, even if he took us seriously,” said Crystal, holding an ice pack to his head.
“He’s also a skilled warrior than any hardened guard I seen before in my life,” said Soapstone, adding his piece.
While most of the new guards were skeptic about this, the only ones that had any interest or awe into Eclipse is the reservists. While Tap and Flight are impressed and amazed, Rose and Quick are intrigued by the stallion.
“Really, wow!” said Flight, starry-eyed.
“Quite the warrior, many of my brethren back home would be impressed to see this pony fight… his technique though is unlike anything I’ve seen before,” said Tap.
“The way he moves and acts reminds me of fighters who have wings, if he were a pegasus or griffon, I think that swiftness of his was natural… Tad odd to see a land-walker move this way,” said Quick.
“I seen my share of hoof-fights, that had to be the cleanest one I’ve seen before, I fought plenty of ponies by myself alone, but I never come out unscathed. This stallion fought four trained guards by himself, are you sure he ain’t secretly a guard or something,” asked Rose, raising a brow.
The guards were split into three groups – those who were skeptical about Eclipse himself, which consisted of the new guards, those who were impressed or at least knew him long enough, consisting of the reservists and old guards, and finally those who stayed neutral or had no thoughts, this was mixed between the old and new – but everyone agreed that Eclipse’s deeds were legit.
Eclipse stopped sharpening his sword, lifting it up to get a better look of it, at that moment both Meltdown and Eclipse looked at one another. While Eclipse was simply gazing at his sword, Meltdown was taking in every detail of Eclipse – from his eyes, to his face, his mane, anything of interest to better tell who this stallion was before him.
Finish with his examinations, Meltdown gave a smile then spoke. “If it wouldn’t be much trouble, would Sir Eclipse accept a duel with me,” said Meltdown, continuing to smile.
If a record player was playing right then, the sudden stop and scratch would be so loud, the sudden awkward silence to come wouldn’t still be enough to show the sheer shock on everyone’s faces. Many of the guards who heard Meltdown’s heroic deeds were quite shocked, that the usually tame stallion would suddenly request a duel just after that intense match that happened earlier.
Orion was about to speak up, if Midnight didn’t approach beside Meltdown and gazed down at Eclipse with her own look. The difference between Meltdown’s calm, collected, and friendly gaze, was a mirrored opposite of Midnight’s intense, murderous, feral eyes, the sheer tough as nails, grizzled look she gave, would make you think she’s a veteran who fought in two wars.
“I’d also like to see the… rumored ‘skills’ you hold, especially of your tussle with a tatzlwurm, a very ferocious beast.”
It was one think when one notable guard asked to face Eclipse, but for two notable guards of different guard groups to ask for a duel at the same time, was as rare as a blue moon. Though the number of surprises weren’t going to end there, seeing two known guards challenge what is apparently the local militia, Sharp Sight was the next to approach.
His reasons for this was mostly, because he recently heard that one of the reasons his sister is still staying in this town, has to do with the stallion everyone is talking about.
If this Eclipse Light pony gets the attention of both of these known guards, let’s see how skilled of warrior he is to face against Clear, no no-name pony can face sis in a battle without getting a flew licks in.
“Excuse me, but would it be alright I join in this duel, I’d also like to see the skills of this stallion myself,” said Sharp.
“Ah, you must be Sharp Sight from the Sharp and Sight clans. Your sister is stationed here too, correct? I was surprised she stationed herself than anywhere else,” said Meltdown.
While the two spoke to one another, Eclipse placed his swords aside and stood up, facing the three, with his usual neutral gaze.
“What kind of duel exactly do you want?” asked Eclipse.
Before anypony could answer, Twilight quickly approached, reaching a hoof around Eclipse. “Would you three mind if I borrow him for a sec, thank you,” said Twilight, with an awkward chuckle.
The three guards watch a distraught Twilight, drag Eclipse some distance near his home; they saw Twilight who had some hairs springing out of her mane, talking to Eclipse with a worried look. Eclipse himself just looked back, speaking a few words, before pausing to let Twilight talk more, who continued to get louder and more distraught with each passing second.
Soon Twilight gave off when she placed a hoof on her forehead and trotted back to the three guards with Eclipse. “Sorry about her, she can be very panicky when it comes to these things.”
“YOU JUST CAME BACK FROM A MATCH INVOLVING FOUR PONIES! NOW YOU WANT TO FACE THREE, TWO WHO I HEARD BEFORE FROM MY BROTHER!?”
“And I need to remind you that this is a requested duel and not an outright challenge from a noble… Also, I’m not as prideful or ignorant to not know my own limits,” said Eclipse. “Don’t worry Twilight, you’ll get less gray hairs that way.”
Flabbergasted, Twilight puffed out her cheeks and gave an annoyed look, those watching gave their own confused looks, but after giving in she joined her friends who either consoled her or laughed.
Eclipse looked at the three until he reached for his sword and twirled it around, stopping it until the bladed pointed upward. “What kind of duel do you three wish to do?”
After some further talking, they agreed to fight armed rather than with their own hooves and instead of using training weapons, they all agreed to use actual weapons. The only one who wore any kind of armor is Sharp, who wore some padded armor that covered his front and barrel. The weapons of choice each fighter chose is an enchanted silver lance for Meltdown called Flare; Midnight equipped herself with a pair of serrated wingblades called Ivory, Sharp wielded his personal rapier.
The duel like the previous match was Eclipse against all three guards, with Eclipse using his dual swords, standing on his rear-hooves in the CQC match. Unlike that match, the unicorn guards surrounded the four fighters in a five-by-five meter radius circle, casting a barrier around them as this match will involve the use of magic from Meltdown for this fight as Eclipse allowed it.
The moment the barrier came up, the three guards got to position, Meltdown stood at the back of their formation while Midnight circled to the right, leaving Sharp to circle to the left. Eclipse stood where he was, with both swords pointed to the ground, he had his gaze on Meltdown.
Other than his swords, Eclipse also had some pouches tied around his waist, the purpose of said pouches was unknown to everyone, but it didn’t change the situation right now. Just as Eclipse changed his perspective from Meltdown to Sharp is when Midnight struck.
Pouncing forth with a flap of her wings, she pointed both her wingblades toward Eclipse; dodging back, he block another attack when Sharp thrust his rapier. Watching Sharp’s rapier blade slide across Eclipse sword, he momentarily let go of his sword handle, using his other sword to take a swing at Sharp.
The sudden move was enough to make Sharp back off, as Eclipse’s sword that was locked with the rapier was sent flying upward. Charging at Sharp, he jumped up and hopped on his head, using him as a trampoline to reach up for his other sword. Somersaulting forward, Eclipse hit Sharp with his sword guard, who barely blocked until he was sent back to Meltdown.
Midnight snarled and swung her left wing toward Eclipse who had his back facing her, as the wing neared him, he blocked her attack with his sword while still facing forward. Pivoting himself around to face her, as he turned fully around he swung his other sword to strike her from her unguarded side.
Just as the sword was about to strike, suddenly the two backed off from each other when a magical arrow came flying between where the two were just moments ago. Soon several more followed after the first one, all coming from Meltdown who advanced slowly. Each magical arrow struck the ground around Eclipse, some flying true, but when the ones that got towards Eclipse neared him, he blocked or struck with the flat-end of his swords.
This surprised many as usually weapons enchanted with protective spells could block or nullify magical attacks, and signs of an enchanted weapon are easy to see from a glance, yet Eclipse’s didn’t show any of those signs.
“Is his weapon enchanted?” asked Ves.
“No, usually a glow appears around weapons and armor that’s enchanted, there are cases though… but this isn’t one of those cases,” said Orion, responding back.
Seeing this happen, all three regrouped together and went back to their previous positions, with Midnight and Sharp circling him once more. Those who watched wondered who won this match, many believing the guards would win, the minority though were those who faced and traveled with Eclipse, the girls and Spike, and the reservists who feel some sort of camaraderie with him.
As the three continued to be vigilant but ready, Eclipse paused his movements, went back to his previous stationary pose – standing on his rear-hooves with both swords pointed down and facing to both sides of him.
Most duels involved one vs one fights or two vs two fights, depending on the situation, the challenger and challenged, and so on... well to say what was happening in front of everyone was not what anyone expected. On one side was Meltdown, Midnight Sun, and Sharp Sight – one was well-known hero among the Royal Guards, another is veteran and skilled Night Guard, the third comes from a long lineage of warriors from Pre-Equestria – to say this was an unfair battle was clear as day... however, to those who personally – and those who fought – against the one being challenged... it was a pretty balanced fight.
His opponents had an equal mix of weaponry and abilities, two were flight capable, one can use magic, each their weapons is something they are skilled with personally and matches with their fighting styles.
While none of them have ever fought together or trained together before, they adapted quickly and know their roles; so far, the young stallion called Sharp, appears fresh out of the training yard, but his senses are like his namesake. The thestral mare on the other hoof is keep tabs on her opponent, her wingblades at a moments notice straight and open to cut into anything its wielder demands it to.
Finally... Meltdown, he stood in the far back, casting spells in the ready, but if his companions can't take the brunt of the damage, he would charge in with his enchanted lance, capable of creating quite the impact to anything it touches.
Most of the newer batch of guards all put their bits – those actually betting and not – to the three guards, knowing from rumor and having seen them fight that their skills were no joke, that the one they were facing had no chance against the three... but to those who been in Ponyville longer than they... knew better.
Whether it be Meltdown's natural talent, Midnight's dedication to the guard and her training, or Sharp's long lineage of warrior-blood and being taught by the best trainers out there, the three were truly match against any foe they were about to face.
None could match them... though, you can't match someone that has no proper equal.
Eclipse stood there with both his signature swords to the side, standing on both his hind legs like a minotaur would, his head tilted down and the sun's light beaming against his back, creating a long outstretched shadow before him.
The shadows hid his eyes, only showing the darkened visage of his face to be seen, but for a short moment, if somepony paid attention... you swear you saw a glimmer of light appear where his eyes were.
This may be a duel and not a true battle... but for once... I don't feel like holding back – I think I can "loosen up" just for today.
Eclipse sheathed both his swords, but his opponents still kept a vigilant stance, keeping an eye on his movements; reaching both his hooves into two separate pouches being held by some ropes around his barrel, Eclipse pulled out a pair of purple crystals. Shoving both crystals into the guard area of his swords, a strange glow envelope both blades, before Eclipse once more unsheathed said swords.
For a short moment another glow appears around his eyes... and during that small exchange with Eclipse glancing at his opponents... you could swear Eclipse smiled for that short span.
"You know, I haven't used this technique in such a long time... But this isn't a terrible start to reusing an old trick."
So please... do try to fight till I'm satisfied.
And at that moment... it became clear that no amount of training, skill, and talent... could surmount to what could best be described as a living prodigy.
In that single moment, a manifestation of battle stepped forth and appeared in flesh and bone – an "Angel of Death" has awoken.
Meanwhile outside the barrier, Twilight and company watched the duel, if it could be called that, earlier when Twilight spoke to Eclipse, ever since that incident with the Darkness Crystals, she’s been… paranoid. Well paranoid was saying it light, she felt like something has been watching her from the shadows, literally, but what really bothered her is that… she’s been feeling weird whenever she’s near Eclipse or rather whenever Eclipse is under certain… conditions.
Maybe it has to do with what happened during that experiment… Eclipse hasn’t told me what happened from his perspective, all I know what happened that day is from what Spike heard from him… So why do I feel like I’m forgetting something.
As they watched the match continue, when Eclipse suddenly began sheathing his swords, he pulled out two very familiar crystals that Twilight recognized.
Wait, aren’t those a pair of Darkness Crystals? Didn’t Eclipse say he would temporarily not use those, why is he using them, didn’t we agree their dangerous to use!
Eclipse soon slammed both crystals into the guard area of both his swords, soon a dark purple glow enveloped both the blades. Unsheathing both swords once more, he twirled them both, when he took a different pose; flipping one sword with the blade pointing backwards, the other sword was positioned in front of him while the other one that had the blade pointed to the ground was behind him.
He faced his opponents with his left rear-hoof in front of his and right rear-hoof behind him, positioning himself to the side, facing them with a different look in his eyes than before.
Seconds went by until his eyes opened wide, with an intense stare, he dashed forth with both blades pointed to the sides, leveled parallel from one another. The sudden speed he exerted was enough to make Meltdown to fire a more powerful magical arrow, its size and color, more brighter and bigger than the ones before.
Midnight and Sharp charged forth, Meltdown’s attack and the two coming from the sides, cornering Eclipse in the middle when he blocked and pushed back both Midnight and Sharp; as the magic arrow got closer to Eclipse, he dashed towards it… and melded into the shadows that the bolt created from its ambient glow.
All three guards were shocked momentarily, as well as their audience when Eclipse vanished into the shadows. Meltdown cast a quick search spell to find Eclipse… when his spell told him, Eclipse was located where he was standing.
Just before he could react, Eclipse exploded forth out of Meltdown’s shadow, appearing behind him, which took the unicorn by surprise. Eclipse slammed both swords toward Meltdown, which he quickly used his lance to block, the blow staggering him enough.
Eclipse was partially in Meltdown’s shadow, when he fully emerged out and bounced off the lance, landing some distance away from him. Midnight and Sharp ran back to Meltdown to assist him, but as the three got back together, Eclipse swung his sword horizontally at the three, sending out a shadowy energy slash, which carved the ground like some land-shark.
“WHAT IN THE TARTARUS IS THAT!?” shouted Sharp.
Midnight shoved Sharp to the side, quickly dodging while Meltdown teleported away from the attack. As the dust cleared and the three looked back where Eclipse was once more, he fell backwards into a pool of darkness, vanishing once more into the shadows.
Thinking fast, Meltdown cast a big ball of light, making all available shadows vanish immediately, soon the three waited until he reappeared. For awhile nothing happened, but from Midnight’s perspective, just as she looked at Meltdown she saw something around his levitating lance. Soon two swords sprung out the shaded area below Meltdown’s lance, the swords reached around and swung down on his lance, sending the weapon flying away from Meltdown.
Springing out of the darkness, Eclipse came out until sending out two vertical energy slashes at Sharp, the first slash he was capable of dodging, while the second got his rapier, sending the weapon to tumble away.
Watching his weapon fly away, Eclipse took this chance and rammed into Sharp, sending him flying straight toward the barrier back-first. Sliding down, he fell down on the ground with a wheeze, beaten, but still conscious when he found himself and his weapon outside the barrier by Iris, who considered him out.
“Why did you pull me out!?” shouted Sharp, angrily.
“Hey, if this was a real battle, you be dead, the moment you lost your weapon and went down, you’re out,” said Iris. “Just be lucky Eclipse didn’t knock you silly.”
Sharp glared back at her, but glanced at the ground, slamming his hoof to the ground in frustration; back with Midnight and Meltdown, while Meltdown was unarmed, he used his magic to block both Eclipse’s ranged and melee attacks.
Midnight flew up and dived down with both her wingblades ready to strike their foe, just as she got close to Eclipse with one of the wingblades nearing his neck, Eclipse bent his head down to dodge. Turning around his entire sword being held by his left hoof glowed with a bright dark purple, soon he slammed the sword to the ground, unleashing a blast of shadowy energy to engulf both him and Meltdown.
Midnight was sent flying back, but she was capable of stopping herself with some quick flaps of her wings, stabilizing herself in the air. Looking down, the only one left standing from that attack is Meltdown who was now standing beside Sharp.
Eclipse faced Midnight, the two looked at one another, with a snarl Midnight did a desperate dive toward him. Swinging his sword as she got close, Midnight dodged his attack, rolling in the air and getting behind him, ready to stab her wingblade toward Eclipse.
Turning to face her, thinking she won with this move, Eclipse’s whole body turned into living shadows, melding through her weapon. Becoming living shadows, Eclipse slipped behind Midnight and pointed both swords at the back of her neck. Feeling the tips of the blades against the fur on her neck, she sighed, lowering her weapons in defeat.
“You win… what the heck are those swords?”
Retrieving his swords away from Midnight, Eclipse sheathed blades and began to trot away on all fours. “Some old mementos from a distant past…” said Eclipse, leaving the barrier.
Watching him leave, many of the new guards watch him in a mix of awe, shock, and fear, even some of the old guards were a bit perplexed by this side of Eclipse. Twilight was racking her mind together what she witnessed.
But how, Eclipse said the Darkness Crystals were unsafe to use and needed further testing, he never told me they could be used this way!
The reserve guards respect for Eclipse grew further on, Flight who was quiet and kept to himself, exploded with emotion. He ran up to Eclipse and began asking him rapid-fire questions, the others soon joined and began asking him their own questions.
“HOW DID YOU DO THAT!? THAT WAS AMAZING! CAN YOU TEACH US TO DO THAT!” shouted Flight, hopping around Eclipse.
“My, for somepony as young as you, I haven’t seen fighting like that in all my years,” said Quick, chuckling.
“Hey, want to get a drink with me, I’ll buy,” said Rose, grinning.
Eclipse looked at the six figures, among them, he kept a close on Flight who didn’t notice at all, still starry-eyed from seeing the spectacle of showdown earlier.
Hmmm, his aura… is different from the others…
“Maybe another time, I have some business I have to attend to, but it was nice to meet you all,” said Eclipse, doing a semi-bow.
Watching him trot away to his home, the reserve guards looked at one another until they were all called back to Orion. The lieutenant looked down at all the guards who returned to parade stance, with their attention him now than Eclipse, he raised his voice.
“WELCOME TO PONYVILLE! Before we get you acquainted with the town, its residents, and your new homes, we’ll begin training – now!”
The Next Day – Ponyville, Outpost Harmony, Orion’s Office; 9:00am
After a harsh day of training, getting acquainted with their new homes, and the occasional introduction with some of the more well-known residents. Today, the newer guards are on patrol of the town, with their numbers up to twenty-four – not including the reservists – the patrol scheduling has become flexible and allows two pairs of patrols to be sent into the town.
One patrol will follow a route from the school to the town hall, while the second patrol will follow a route from the train station to the north-eastern part of town. Before this could happen, Orion and Ves planned to have the newer guards take up the original patrol plan for a week so they’re better familiarized with the area, this of course doesn’t mean the old guard have extra free-time, as the hours they’re suppose to be doing patrol, are spent on either training or office-work – which is a lot considering Ponyville has a lot of paperwork than you would think.
While the new guards are getting use to their given roles, Orion was in his new office, unlike the previous one which was decent, but this one looked like it was made for a captain.
Heh, captain… like I’ll reach that rank anytime soon… took me two years to reach first lieutenant from my rank as second lieutenant. Now I have to get a total of five years of service… sadly its rare for anyone to get rank of captain, you’re more likely to get that rank in the larger cities… not a small town here.
Though, getting a personal assignment and request from the princess herself was enough for me to accept being posted here.
Orion looked through the profiles of the original guards stationed here, having promoted Clear Sight, Fang, and Heart Beat due to their assistance with Eclipse on his journey through the San Palomino Desert, but also for their assistance in rescuing kidnapped Equestrian citizens, border guards, and other sapient creatures from a group of griffon mercenaries.
Right now he was reviewing both the profiles of said original guards and their newer arrivals, specifically, the ones that will be promoted soon in five months. Soapstone was promoted just last month to PE2, I might have to hold a promotion ceremony on September – unlike his I had to call him to my office and tell him the good news.
“Let’s start with Meltdown and Midnight Sun, then the rest – I’ll do the reservists last,” said Orion, pulling out Meltdown’s portfolio first.
Meltdown – rank, Second Lieutenant; age, twenty; gender, male; species, unicorn – is the youngest recorded guard to be promoted to lieutenant. Was originally stationed at Tall Tale until his actions saved the city from a dragon rampaging at the city, which he swiftly moved to Canterlot, given both officer training and a promotion to his current rank.
He’s young, practically the safe age as all of the privates, though he was the second candidate to become captain back in Canterlot… though the previous captain chose Shining Armor – Armor has been stationed in Canterlot longer, is a local, and he’s also brother to the princess’ student… that and his many other connections with the royalty.
Moving on, he put Meltdown’s profile aside and grabbed Midnight’s next.
Midnight Sun – rank, Sergeant; age, twenty-four; gender, female; species, thestral – was stationed at an outpost near Hollow Shades, alongside her is her two close friends Night Rain and Shadow Fog. Strict, you would assume she was a drill-sergeant, but that’s her normal attitude – both on and off-duty.
With her and Ves being the same rank, command for the Lunar Guard will get confusing fast, but generally common-sense follows that the senior guard who’s been stationed longer is in charge… hopefully Midnight will follow that and use regulation and demand they both share command, or worse.
As Orion was putting away her profile, one of the profiles from the pile slip and slid into his periphery view. Looking at the profile, it was the profile of Clear Sight’s younger brother – Sharp Sight – deciding to take a look with it in front of him, he read the contents inside.
Sharp Sight – rank, Private E-2; age, twenty-one; gender, male; species, pegasus – comes from both the Sharp and Sight bloodlines, two well-known pegasus clans. Young but talented, was given several recommendations by both members of his family and other known guards.
If I remember, he’s Clear’s brother, their five years apart, but his build makes him look way younger, but what’s more surprising is he and Meltdown joined the guard around the same time – different locations though – to imagine that somepony who had no prior military background from his family, rose the ranks, while somepony who does had to take the longer route.
“Wonder how those two will be when they first meet,” said Orion.
Ponyville, Outpost Harmony, Clear’s Room; 9:30am
Clear sat at her desk, pencil in hoof, she had her journal open and was currently writing down what happened yesterday.
April 23, Year 1011
It has been seven months and three days – two-hundred and sixteen days – since my new deployment here in Ponyville. The requested guards that was asked and supposed to arrive on January have finally come, with it we now have an outpost built come distance outside of Ponyville, with it additional rail tracks were made for military munitions to be sent to this outpost rather than collecting them back at local train station.
The numbers of both Royal Guards and Lunar Guards have doubled, with them are six reservists from outside of Equestria. I’ve been told they aren’t officially guards yet but will still need to follow the same schedule we do, until they’ve been posted here for six months will they become officially guards. Only the ones called Quick Feather and Bubble Pop are different as while they aren’t Equestrian guards, were originally military from their respective nations, they too will follow the six-month rule, but are given some leeway for certain situations.
The other four however are different, other than three of them being foreigners, the one called Barbed Rose is an Equestrian but she’s from the frontier towns – I think the one located further north-west, Luna Bay – and the borders south and north of Equestria are a bit difficult to tell which is considered Equestrian land and not. Rather than going through the paperwork – which is faster, but much more meticulous – she rather go through the six-month rule like the others too.
Among the new guards, Sharp Sight and our cousins-
Clear paused writing as she stared at the words she put down, after some thought and conflicted thinking within her psyche, she scratched out those words and rewrote her original sentence.
Among the new guards, Sharp Sight and our cousins The new guards involve Privates Sharp Sight, Sharp Arrow, and Sharp Wing; the three joined together, but Sharp has been already reached PE2, I believe he was involve a small scuffle at Cloudsdale – something to do with some smugglers transporting illegal goods.
He is doing alright and I hope he improves… that he…
Sighing, she put her pencil down, crossing her forehooves onto the desk and laying her head on top of them, burying her head.
Ten years… its been ten years, we haven’t seen each other for ten whole years. I haven’t seen or spoke with him since he eleven, not after… not after I left to stay with uncle Sharp. Sure I heard how he’s been from our cousins, but ever since… I hope he forgives me.
“...Sharp, for we keep our blades that way; Sight, for we want our targets in view; Slash, for we will give our foes in return... This is the mantra, the mantra of the Purebloods…”
At that moment, she gets a knock on her door, waiting to see who it was, a mix of anxiety and fear washed through her, but soon those feelings ebbed away as she exhaled loudly. “Who’s there?”
“Its me, Iris! Some of the new guys and gals invited me to drinks tonight, I'm wondering if you want to come, can I come in?”
For some time Clear thought about what she heard, soon she stood up and approached the door, reaching a hoof over she opened the door to see a smiling Iris. The unicorn was… very happy for somepony like her, but she does her job well, out of everypony here, both her illusion magic and secretarial skills have been helpful.
“...Who exactly will be there?” asked Clear.
“And she opens the door, if you’re wondering, I know Mango, Fang, Crystal, Beat, and Soapstone will be there, as well as the new younger guards… I think a stallion called Sharp Sight will be there… say you wouldn’t be related would you?”
Clear mumbled something out, but it was unheard by Iris, before she could respond though, Clear spoke up. “Actually I think I’ll have to deny your invitation…”
Iris looked carefully at Clear expression and body, ever since she was stationed in Ponyville, she got to know all of her fellow guards as much as possible – being in charge of greeting anypony enter the barracks meant she had to see plenty of faces and see what their true intentions are. Iris can clearly see that something was bothering her fellow guard, sure Clear is a higher rank than her, she always felt a sort of sisterhood with the collected mare.
Placing a hoof on her withers, she guided the now confused Clear to her bed, the two sat down and looked at one another. “You alright, something bothering you?”
“I… yes he’s my brother, but we haven’t seen each other in over a decade… We… didn’t leave on good terms,” said Clear.
As long she could remember, she never opened up to anypony, ever since she left her home and began training with her uncle, she has always kept to herself… and wrote down her personal feelings in her journal… well… sometimes. So right now, her speaking to somepony she barely knew only as a fellow guard was… strange and out of place for her.
“I see… go on.”
Clear looked at Iris deeply, rather than ask what went wrong or anything else, she tells her to keep going. Deciding to go with it, Clear began talking a little about herself and brother… and the family’s long ancient tradition.
You see… when a member of my family reaches a certain age, they are sent away from home and train for the rest of their life in a sort of pilgrimage. Said pilgrimage doesn’t happen only with my family but two others – the Sharp clan and Slash clan, other fellow pegasi clans. The other clans sent followed this tradition, sadly the Slash clan had no sons – they don’t accept daughters to do the tradition, was always their sons.
“Ah huh.”
To compensate for this, the Sharp clan sent their two sons to do the tradition. The tradition involves the eldest of that clan to live with both clans for a certain number of years, you see, the children are sent when they reach the age of twelve and expected to join the military by eighteen or nineteen… so three years to train under each clan.
“Where does this lead to you and your brother’s current relationship?”
...My brother… back then wasn’t like how he is… well, I don’t know how he really is now compared to back then, but he was kind… too kind. He wouldn’t survive that kind of training from the other two clans, he couldn’t survive the training from our father. I myself was the same, but mostly because no expectations for me to do the tradition was expected… when I heard he would be sent away from home the moment he turned twelve… I made my decision.
I was sixteen when I took his place, so rather than the total of six years of training, I only had two years… So instead of the training that every eldest son is given normally… I was given a long forbidden version of the tradition, one that hadn’t been used in ages due to the changing of the times… Let’s just say it left its own scars – mentally and physically.
“And that is my life’s story – I gave up my future so my brother wouldn’t had to go through that version of Tartarus…”
“Well… I don’t think it worked considering your brother still joined the guard,” said Iris. “Sorry, if that sounded rude… but I’m just saying you know.”
Clear nodded, when she heard the news of Sharp joining the guard… it was sudden, though she suspect their father secretly trained him at home which is forbidden, as only one child will join the guard – with some exceptions – while the other should find a suitable partner to keep the bloodline going.
Iris thought about what she heard from Clear, then she began to think how Clear never opened up to anypony before, only the bare minimum of communication came from her… With a soft smile, she wrapped a hoof around her, this surprising Clear a bit from the sudden contact.
“I’m thankful you opened up this to me… Maybe I’ll tell the others I won’t join them, how about you and I have our own girls night, just the two of us?”
Clear looked at Iris a bit before staring down at the ground, for the longest time she’s been alone, carrying this burden so long, feeling she couldn’t depend on anypony else anymore. Maybe I can change that today onward.
“Sure… I like that, a lot.”
Ponyville, Berry Punch’s Bar; 11:00pm
Many of the newer guards decided to go to the local bar just as planned, the only ones that didn’t attend are Orion, Meltdown, Clear Sight, Iris, Fang, and all the reservists. The entire bar was rented for tonight, so other than Berry Punch and two servers, the locale was filled with only guards. Since the guards did nothing but train, patrol, or other such duties the day they arrived and yesterday, it was alright for them to have some time off this evening.
All of the guards were sitting in their own tables, immediately creating and shows the various groups; the obvious groups were the old guards, which consisted of Crystal, Yin, Yang, Soapstone, and Heart Beat. The other tables held their own groups – one table has only the Sharp and Sight members, one table has the thestrals, while another had a mix of Royal and Lunar Guard members.
Sitting at the far corner was a particular group of ponies which consisted of both members from both guard groups. The first of the five is a male earth pony, his cutie-mark consists of a shield that looks like an oaken tree with branches and leaves extending from the sides; his name is Forest Shield, he’s like your average Royal Guard, while the guards stationed at Canterlot are given enchanted armor that makes all guards – male or female – look the same based off specific selection, other cities don’t have the same enchantments for their guards’ armor, this is mostly due to Canterlot having a heavy unicorn population and enchanters are more frequent than other cities – also meaning that enchantments are more cheap in Canterlot too.
Forest Shield has a brown mane and tail, dark green fur, and his eyes are light brown color, his weaponry when on duty is a guard-standard spear and tower shield. He set his mug of alcohol – Berry’s home-made brew – listening to the conversation coming from two of his fellow guards.
The next guard that sat across from Forest is a lithe, but fiery pegasus by the name of Fast Shot; many would mistake this pegasus as a mare due to their physique, but whenever any stallion try to attempt at wooing ‘her’, they would end up beaten a pulp and finding out they are a he… though, those are the words that come from Fast.
Fast Shot has a yellow mane with blue zigzag pattern going through both their mane and tail, blue coat, and orange eyes. Their cutie-mark is a ball with two lightning bolts trailing behind it, one yellow and the other blue; their desired weapons are – oddly enough – are a pair of swords, even though they can’t properly wield two swords.
The current conversation was actually about Fast’s sudden decision to wield two swords rather than just one, their excuse was the fact they witnessed Eclipse use two. “How come I can’t use two!? If that stallion can use two then I can too!” shouted Fast, swinging their mug to make their point.
“What kind of cock-measuring contest are you trying to beat him in!? For starter’s he didn’t just use two swords, he fought using an unseen technique you daft feather-head!”
“WHO YOU CALLING A FEATHER-HEAD YOU WINGED PARROT!”
The one arguing back with Fast Shot is the pegasus from the Lunar Guard, Windstorm, who sat beside Forest, unlike Fast’s comment of a parrot, Windstorm was pretty average for a pegasus. His coat is cloud-white, while his mane and tail is white-blue, his eyes being a light purple color. His cutie-mark is a several clouds taking a formation of a tornado; he uses a guard-standard throwing spear, light enough to fly with and perfect for close-to-mid range combat.
“Look, for the love of Harmony, you can’t honestly think you’ll learn to use two swords just by watching Sir Eclipse. He explicitly said he won’t teach his techniques with anyone from the guard, that was the deal made between him and the princesses,” said Windstorm.
“And how the heck do you know that exactly?”
“Its called reading the guard manual that lieutenant Orion made for us newcomers – the town’s layout, our duties, the rules we guards have to abide by in this town, and all other guard standard regulations – don’t tell me you even read the beginning section of the manual,” said Windstorm.
“I have… partially…”
Windstorm sighs, alongside his sigh is a chuckle from the group’s fourth member, who sat between Windstorm and Fast Shot, the unicorn from the Lunar Guard, Silent Blaze.
Blaze mane is short, only reaching a quarter length down her neck, both the mane and tail being the color pink, while her coat is a gray coloration similar to Orion’s, her eyes being a dark pink. Her cutie-mark is a blazing fire taking the form of a bell.
Being a unicorn, its obvious she doesn’t use a weapon, she specializes with pyromancy, illusion magic, and summons a magical sword made of the flames from her magic. Like her namesake, she’s actually a mute, but quite ‘vocal’ when she wishes to be, let’s say her point is made clear and her temper can be quite harsh, though she’s friendly to those she considers her comrades.
Blaze gave a mute chuckle, prefer to enjoying a glass of red wine than her companions mugs of beer; the last of their group is the large stallion who sat beside Windstorm. Oddly enough his name is what caught everypony’s attention, as he goes by the surname of Bob – though that isn’t his full name, but it was much easier to remember than his full-name.
His mane and tail is purple, his fur is a basic blue, while his eyes are the same blue as his coat; his cutie-mark is a pair of boxing gloves, with his armaments being a pair of guard-standard hoof gauntlets.
Originally Fang was the expert CQC guard in Ponyville, but that position has been overtaken by Bob as he was an ex-pro boxer from Fillydelphia. When Fang did some CQC training with Bob, unlike his match against Eclipse who was quick and precise, Bob dealt some powerful and weighty hits, taking Fang by surprise and down in the ground in moments.
With this outing for drinks many of the guards got to know one another, though it was clear at least four groups had been made within the guards in Ponyville. While one group consist of the older guards, another consisting of the newer guards, the third and fourth groups however are interest; the third group consist of Meltdown and the Sharps, while Meltdown isn’t the leader he and Sharp Sight appear to have gotten close as acquaintances, having both be patrol partners.
The fourth group consist of the thestrals, or more specifically, Midnight and her two close companions, Shadow Fog and Night Rain. While they have no begrudging feelings toward the other guards, Midnight their leader is somewhat against Ves when it comes to guard duties, since they both share the same rank – alongside Fang who while being a sergeant, follows Ves as his superior.
There is of course a fifth group which is the reservists, though none of the guards know much about them since they didn’t join them for drinks at the bar, volunteering to do patrol duty while everypony else went for drinks.
Sitting at the bar, Sharp Sight and his cousins Arrow and Wing, discuss about Meltdown and Orion, specifically with two well-known stallions, one who reached their rank through hard-work, while the other through talent. “So who you think is more deserving of becoming captain of this town exactly, sure Orion has higher rank than him, but the chances of Meltdown becoming captain are just as similar as Orion’s?” asked Arrow.
“Why are we having this discussion in the first place, isn’t it mutiny to be having these thoughts?” asked Wing.
“That is if we are thinking of mutiny, I’m just wondering about succession of captaincy in this town. Sure we don’t have enough guards for anypony to be ranked to captain, that is something were to happen, I mean we’re located near the Everfree Forest, some wild creatures have to wander out and enter the town, right?”
“Unlikely, previous reports state that the chances of a monster attacking is real slim, due to the actions of the Mane 6 and our resident benefactor, Sir Eclipse,” said Sharp.
“So there’s no chance for them to be promoted to captain through deeds, as the chances them being ranked through service is real unlikely,” said Arrow.
“Not quite…” Sharp takes a sip of his drink, before placing down, facing his cousins. “If you heard the rumors and reports from Canterlot, you know that the Church has a vendetta with Sir Eclipse, whether that’s public knowledge or not depends on who you ask. Either way, sooner or later, the Church will make their move against Sir Eclipse, then we guards will act in kind… I’ll help Meltdown succeed as captain, I respect him and support him whole-heartily.”
Sure, this has nothing to do with your grudge with your sister, who works directly for Orion.
“Of course, whatever you say Sharp,” said Arrow.
“We’re with you either way dude,” said Wing, nodding in kind.
Sharp continued to drink from his mug, thoughts of what the future will hold, swirling in his mind.
Three Days Later – Ponyville, Ponyville Barracks; 6:00am
Three days have gone by, the guards have gotten used to being the town and their given schedules, but the focus was on the reservists. Waking up early in the morning, an hour before anyone else usually wakes up, it was normal for Rose to up at this hour, mostly because it relates to her prior job.
She used to work as a lumberjack, while anywhere else, the only dangers to worry about is falling trees, she worked in Northern Equestria, where the temperatures were colder, the local fauna wasn’t as friendly as anywhere else, and you’re more likely to get frostbitten than crushed by logs. Another issue with the job is that its harder to find good lumber or firewood in this case, as most trees are too frozen to be used.
Most of the settlements in Northern Equestria consist of mostly earth ponies and pegasi, while there were a few unicorns within each of these settlements, fewer had access to fire or heat-based spells. Sadly, Rose’s magical abilities related to manipulating and summoning magical rose vines and anything to do with plants… which is completely useless in colder climates where plant-life is zilch.
With no other choice, she had to work for a job that she could use her talents for, having a sort of close connection with mother nature, she could tell which trees were alright to cut, which ones were rotting, and which ones needed more time to grow.
Working as a lumberjack has built up a lot of muscle, working with stallions who could knock you out with a hoof-punch and drink three-times than your average stallion, had an effect on her. She got to her own tussles, gained quite the rep – both when it comes to alcohol and to her own might – and built up her muscles that she could be compared to the average earth-pony strength.
Though there is this ritual she always follows every morning exactly at six o’clock, back home she get up at that hour, go to her favorite coffee shop, and go for a walk through town… sadly there’s one issue, the town doesn’t sell coffee, they sell a lot of tea though. A good thing though is that the guard barracks has a coffee machine down in the kitchen, another good thing is she knows how to make a good brew from being taught by a close friend.
“Maybe I should write a letter back to everypony back home,” said Rose.
After getting a mug of coffee, she stepped outside the barracks and gazed at the rising sun, the orange, yellow, and red colors spread out across the town. She’s always followed this same ritual ever since she was introduced to the taste of coffee, especially when she came to age to drink the beverage.
Those who know Rose is that she’s a lot like her namesake… but those who are close with her, would know she can be quite the softy. She loves listening to orchestral music, she enjoys a good sunrise, and while living in a village that’s winter three out of four seasons a year, she actual enjoys the snow.
Sadly her crass attitude is simply due to her lack of communication skills and having to act tough… her only friend was that same coffee shop owner back at her hometown.
I should really write a letter to home.
Gazing around her, she spotted a familiar sight, trotting around town for a jog is Eclipse Light, just as he passed the barracks, she approached him as he slowed down slightly and began stretching a little. As she got closer, Eclipse soon noticed her, turning around to face her as she took another swig of her coffee.
“Hello, you must be… one of the reservists, correct. Barbed Rose, right?”
“Er, sure, so what are you doing here this early in the morning?”
“Ah, well I’ve always wake up at six o’clock, go for a jog around town, then get some breakfast at Sugarcube Corner, been doing it since I first came to this town,” said Eclipse. “I’m assuming you have your own morning rituals.”
“You could say that… say you drink coffee,” said Rose. “Got a brew ready back at the barracks.”
“I drink sometimes… on a good day and when I’m in the mood,” said Eclipse.
“That’s… an odd reason…”
Eclipse followed Rose back into the barracks, which she got him a mug of coffee, the two sat at one of the tables in the recreation room. Rose saw Eclipse’s CQC match against those guards, then the armed match with three other armed guards, he won both matches, though when she the way he used those duel swords and morph into the shadows… was quite the spectacle.
The two sat quietly, Rose taking at glance at the window to outside, then back at Eclipse, while he took a sip of his coffee, tasting it a little. “Tad sweet, never imagined you prefer sugar into your coffee,” said Eclipse.
“Sorry about that, never was a fan of the usual bitter taste coffee has, my friend always preferred drinking coffee as it is, though he would sometimes slip me some sugar for my coffee…”
“Hmmm, no problem, its best to take a gift than denying it, its how you treat said gift afterwards is up to you.”
“Wow, what’s with all the wise-man mojo you got going on?”
“No, just personal experience is all.”
Rose thought about, taking another sip from her coffee, after awhile Eclipse soon left, saying his farewell, she stopped him from leaving.
“Hold on, before you go, can you answer a question, there’s been something bothering me for awhile,” said Rose, getting Eclipse attention. “What made you want to live here? I mean I came here because I needed a change of scenery and an old retired guard I knew suggested I work for the guard, and living in this place seemed an alright start.”
Eclipse held a contemplative look, he knew the answer but it wasn’t something he should openly say, after some further thought, he came up with a response.
“Same as you – I wished a changed of scenery – a new start, no, rather to change my routine.”
“Your routine?”
“Ah, well… my previous occupation has gotten a little messy, so I needed a little break, some away time you could say. You can be surprised the places you wish to go and the places you end up going to.”
Rose nodded in agreement, she didn’t imagine seeing herself ever leaving her hometown, heck, becoming a guard was as likely her sprouting wings and becoming a princess. After saying goodbye to Eclipse, Rose went back inside, muttering about writing a letter for home.
Ponyville, Outpost Harmony; 9:30am
It was another day for Bubble Pop, while her bubbly personality would be a match, if not exact carbon copy of a certain bouncy pink-maned mare, she’s competent doing her work as a guard. Pop was looking through several documents relating to future and current relating to troops, supplies, new armor and weaponry, and reports for Ponyville.
While the number of guards won’t rapidly increase anytime in the future, but they will expect more guards in the next two years. Apparently the main reason why they won’t receive new guards next year is due to the situation in Manehatten getting worse the past months; the body count has doubled to tripled since the first few victims had been found, though oddly enough, now guards are going missing so transfer for more guards had been sent to Manehatten until the situation has been solved.
Pop sighed reading the request for more guards being denied and pushed back an additional two months, now which means Ponyville won’t receive any new guards in the next two years until July.
“This suuuucks, hey Quick, how about we get a drink down at the barracks, I heard the twins managed to get some apple cider from the Apple family’s farm. Apparently they had to negotiate with that Light stallion, he’s quite the merchant, even they had difficulty trying to convince him to get some cider for them,” said Pop, turning on her swivel chair to face Quick.
The griffon was also looking at some similar reports, though these one consist mostly of a mix of reports from various civilians. While living in a town as small as Ponyville wouldn’t mean a lot of problems, but not only is the town built near one of the most dangerous, magical, locations in all of Equestria, the guard also have to deal with issues outside of Ponyville – from the various farms and private properties owned by nobles or rich merchants.
“What is with this Spoiled Rich complaining, she keeps coming to this outpost, demanding we quote-on-quote, ‘That wild beast that wanders about, waiting to eat us all to shreds,’? Just what is she keep yammering about this wenc-”
“Feather… we talked about this, no swearing, or you have to pay the swear jar,” said Pop, pulling out a jar with a notable amount of bits inside it.
“Sorry…”
“Good and if you’re wondering what Miss Rich is demanding, she wants Sir Light’s pet cub bear, Luella, to be detained… though we technically can’t do that as we’re not animal control… and I’m pretty certain Sir Light would break anypony’s bones if they dare to lay a hoof on her.”
The two could remember when Spoiled rich hired – which was not proven for reasons – somepony outside of town to… ‘remove’ Luella, what happened instead was that all the guards had to separate Eclipse from nearly beating the Tartarus out of the stallion after founding Luella in a bag. The cub was alright… the stallion, not so much, luckily Fluttershy was with Eclipse that day and proven Luella was being kidnapped by this pony… that and the fact that Eclipse is literally untouchable – arrest him, means no local support within the town, meaning the guard stationed in Ponyville won’t be able to manage.
“...Is it technically corruption if we didn’t even give him a fine… I mean, he has connections with the princesses, the guard, some well-know individuals, the heroines of Equestria too!”
“Well, that’s all technically public knowledge if you ask the right creatures. So far he’s done nothing illegal and is a public figure in this town… and he seems like a well-mannered lad.”
Pop chuckled and went back to work, while Quick, pulled open his drawer and removed a cigar, just as he was about to light it, he heard an audible cough. Turning around to face Pop who held another jar that said, ‘No Smoking’, the jar also holding its own share – if not more – of bits. With a disgruntled sigh, he dropped several bits and continued to smoke his cigar, Pop giggling to herself.
Ponyville, Town Square; 2:30pm
While the reservists are only relegated to doing desk work – checking reports, sitting at the front desk, and organizing supply reports – they were required to still train and follow other guard regulations. Right now, Heavy Ear and Light Tap, were enjoying taking a stroll through town, the equipment they were given wasn’t like regular guard-standard equipment, but a close temporary replacement.
Both the minotaur and diamond dog wore a leather vest and helmet, the helmets only covered the back, sides, and top of their heads, but didn’t reach their necks or covered the face, making it look like a modified pith helmet. On the right side of their chest on the vest was a symbol to signify them as guard reservists.
Tap who could understand equine language, also knows the diamond dog language, while his companion can’t speak equine, but can clearly understand equine; the two spoke to one another, speaking in the Heavy’s language.
(So what do you think about the town, nice?) asked Tap.
(Hmmm, its alright… not shabby I suppose.) said Heavy, muttering to himself.
Anypony nearby only heard a sort of bark and grumbling sound from both the minotaur and diamond dog, those who personally met either race kept a good distance from the pair… those who don’t know anything about that, were further away from them like the plague.
(Why did you want to come here, to the land of ponies?) Tap looked down at Heavy who wondering about what reason did Tap wanted to come to Equestria, sure back home it wasn’t as bad but there was its problems.
Deciding to speak in equine, the two walked to a nearby empty bench and sat down.
“I never really fit back home, sure I’m quite built for fighting, but I could never stomach that, especially the way how things were dealt back home,” said Tap. “I want to protect others, not inflict pain onto others for bad reasons.”
(My friend, I understand… but these ponies do not show to be accepting at the slightest… what makes you think you can make them see to accept the real you, regardless of looks?)
“...Eclipse Light, he looks like a pony, but he fought like a minotaur, naw, he fought like warriors of old. His cold, ruthless nature… has been easily accepted openly by the townsfolk, that is enough for me to believe that even I have a chance… Besides, we can’t exactly return back home, especially after humiliating that one warlord, now can we.”
Tap gave a smug grin, as Heavy chuckled along his long time old friend, the two have gotten to their own share of mischief, though working as mercenaries in the past had its problems… though it was worth helping those rebels to fight against that warlord… even though that same warlord hired the pair to work for him.
The two looked at the surrounding town, sure they still given some mistrustful looks, but the best way to be welcomed by others is through their actions than some reputation. With that, the pair stood up and began to get to work.
“Let’s get see if somepony needs help, I believe somepony’s carriage wheel broke at the eastern bridge, let’s go.”
Ponyville; 5:50pm
It was reaching the end of the day, the sun was beginning to set, ponies were beginning to head home or go out for the night-life in Ponyville… one particular pegasus was wandering the streets. Flight wasn’t wearing his guard reservist armor, he was actually not in duty right now and taking a break… that’s at least what he told he colleagues.
Looking around carefully, Flight quickly entered a nearby alleyway, which was blocking the light of the sun, making it dark, to anypony else you wouldn’t be able to see into the alleyway or out… to Flight, it looked like nothing much has changed.
Making a second survey of his surroundings, Flight sighed, when a sudden flash of green and green flames consumed Flight; standing taking his place is a black chitinous equine with insect-like wings, hole-covered legs, fangs like thestrals, and eyes that were completely blue with no pupils whatsoever.
This was Flight’s true form or rather this was Spine’s real form – Spine, a female changeling, not an infiltrator like her other sisters and brothers, just a simple grunt, a lower-class guard changeling… which was odd since she looked nothing like a warrior-class changeling due to her somewhat frail-looking shape and the fact she was quite the opposite of brave, rather she was very spineless… odd since her name is Spine.
Spine leaned against the alleyway’s wall, slowly slipping down on the ground until she plopped down on the ground on her hind-quarters. Laying her head on her forehooves, she pulled her body in, with a slight whimper.
Sure being an ex-changeling guard meant she knew how to take orders and how to act like guard… sadly she wasn’t that great at handling certain… situations, especially the ones the involve her getting her hooves dirty or getting too close… She was terrible getting physical when the situation requires it.
I get some occasional love from the passing couple or pony with a crush… but its not enough… I should leave and go somewhere else… with a better identity next time.
Spine would get ready to leave as soon as the chance was given to her… if she didn’t owe herself to a certain griffon. Ever since Quick Feather found her – well as Flight, not as Spine – that day, she be dead in some ditch, but the old yet kind griffon helped her out, even got her to join the guard somehow.
“No… you can't do that Spine, you owe Quick… You won’t let him down, you’ll stay and maybe… someday… you can thank him for his kindness and… tell him about yourself… the real you, not this Flight persona…”
As Spine took a few calming breaths, she stood up and was rather to go… if a sudden clatter of noise didn’t spook her. A loud yet cute squeal that sounded like a mix between a snake and cat, came out of her mouth, swiftly facing where the noise came from, she expects any of the locals having spotted her true form… only to see a certain cub bear gazing at her.
Seeing it was Luella – Eclipse’s pet bear – having spotted her, she gave herself a sigh of relief until she began shooing the cub away.
“Shoo shoo, go away, go back to your home or whatever you do you… whatever the heck you are. Seriously, just what in the Mother-Hive are you suppose to be?”
Luella grunted and waddled off, once she was gone, Spine transformed back to Flight and headed back to the barracks, he needed to get back to work from his ‘break’.
As Flight made his way back to the barracks, from another alleyway, was Luella, turning around to face the darkness of the alleyway, stepping out of the darkness is Eclipse who held an intrigued look.
“Hmmmm… interesting,” said Eclipse.
Two Days Later – Ponyville, Eclipse’s Property; 1:15pm
A week has gone by since the new guards have arrived in Ponyville, with the week coming to an end, the schedules for both old and new guards will return to normal and the real work for the Ponyville-branch of Royal Guards and Lunar Guards can finally begin.
In the middle of the day, Ves has been busy since she was given temporary break while most her usual work as the senior ranked guard for the Lunar Guards, leaving most of her work to Fang’s and Midnight Sun’s hooves. This doesn’t mean she was free as she spent the past week planning for an event that would come in the coming four days – the Grand Galloping Gala.
Ever since Eclipse came back from his trip at the San Palomino Desert and Pristine’s kidnapping, Ves has been doing her own investigations about the Church. Ever since Pristine was kicked out of the Church, she has been keeping a close eye on that mare, but its clear whatever the Church have planned for her, its not happening anytime soon, but the Church’s activities aren’t as simple as that.
The situation in Manehattan has only gotten worse these past months, I’m getting words from my friends stationed there that the Church may be related to what’s going on in that city. The first victims found by the Manehattan-branch of the Royal Guard had no correlation with the Church, but recent victims have been found to be very powerful supporters or individuals that had some shady connections with the Church.
Not only that, with Eclipse being invited to the Gala, the Church will most definitely do something I doubt they would simply forgive and forget.
As Ves headed to Eclipse’s home, she wished to speak to the stallion alone… sadly, she was followed by a rather annoying mare.
“Sergeant Midnight, as I stated before, I wish to speak to Eclipse Light about his invitation to the Gala and how this may give the Church an opportunity to act in kind, so please head back to town so I may convince him to allow some of the guards to accompany him for the Gala,” said Ves, continuing to trot down the path.
When Ves left, Midnight kept pestering her to come along, not only that but she’s been pestered by her ever since she first arrived. Whether it be guard-related or not, Midnight Sun took every opportunity to question Ves’ actions and choices.
Is she this aggressive to receive a promotion regardless of seniority, I swear if she had this attitude in the presence of Princess Luna, she’d get a rightful scolding for her rude attitude.
“I am simply wishing to add my piece to Eclipse Light about who should go with him for the Gala, as I have heard, the Church have quite the grudge on those that dare embarrass them, especially their head paladin who has a bit of a… ‘temper’ to say the least,” said Midnight, responding back.
As the two mares got close to Eclipse’s home, both trying their best to hold a mask of professional, even though their internal thoughts were quite differing to what they really want to say. Once they stepped out of the trees and entered the flat dirt ground that’s the front lawn of Eclipse’s home, the pair spotted Eclipse speaking to two unfamiliar figures.
From what they could see, one figure appeared to be a dragon who wore clothing that best fit with mobsters from Manehattan’s industrial days, he was halfway taller than Eclipse, while anypony who stood alongside the dragon would only reach his lower torso, but due to him slouching – whether this was done on purpose or to better face eye-to-eye with anypony – they would gaze right at his upper torso.
Some other particular details about this dragon was the large object wrapped in filthy rags and various other cloths that was hung and held on his back by a single leather strap wrapped around his chest. His clothing was a black suit with silver criss-cross, on his right breast is an interesting brooch – a silver gear with a jade skull on top of it. Another interesting detail is his face, while dragon scales are tough and the only way to make a scratch is with enchanted weaponry or spiked weaponry, plus a powerful swing, this dragon had numerous scars stretched along his face like some sort of twisted canvas.
The side of his face that had the numerous scars, the eye there was a milky white showing it wasn’t functional anymore, but his other eye was a dark putrid green that made Ves shiver when the dragon took a glance at her for a second.
The other figure that stood beside the dragon was a very unique being, something you rarely see in Equestria or any of the northern lands – an Abyssinian or Cat-Lord for the common tongue. Unlike the rough and tough male dragon, the female Cat-Lord was the opposite; her slim and petite form was very deceiving, compared to the scarlet armor she wore. The armor itself was similar in design and look to Neighponese samurai armor, but while she wore the full set, the only think missing was helmet as instead of that piece on her head, a scarlet blindfold was wrapped around her head, covering both her eyes.
She had a cape that stretched up and ended to her waist, while for her body consisted of a dark sky blue fur with lighter tones around her ears, paws, and nose. Unlike the dragon who didn’t appeared armed, the Cat-Lord had a sheathed katana that was visible to both mares, the weapon itself slung to the Cat-Lord’s waist.
The three seemed to be in a middle of a conversation, but before Ves could figure out what they were saying Midnight approached them with a suspicious look in her eyes, unable to stop her she followed too. As the two approached the first to notice their presence wasn’t Eclipse or the dragon, rather the blind Cat-Lord sniffed the air and gently moved her blind gaze to the pair. This caught the attention of everyone else and soon Eclipse and his company faced the two thestrals.
“You two, who are you and hand over any weapons you may have, by order of Equestrian law, both citizens and visitors outside the country can’t bring weapons without a permit! You will be searched if you are found to hold anything that goes against said laws!” shouted Midnight.
Ves mentally facepalmed at Midnight’s actions, sure what she’s doing is wrong, but the fact one is a dragon and the other appears to be a Cat-Lord, one that while blind doesn’t appear to be the kind of warrior you wish to mess with, the two aren’t equipped to handle an enraged dragon or a warrior with unknown capabilities.
Luckily, Eclipse stepped forward to intervene as he approached both Midnight and Ves – which Ves gave a glad sigh at his intervention.
“Hello Ves, Midnight, if you’re wondering who these two are, they’re old acquaintances of mine from my travels. They came to visit me after hearing that I found a place to stay that will last longer than a week.”
The drake approached the pair with a devilish grin, the sharp pointed teeth, capable of biting through diamonds into dust, glistened in the light. Tipping his fedora down, the two mares had mix feelings about this particular drake – Ves was perturbed while Midnight still kept a feeling of mistrust.
“Hello you two, the name’s Toxic, sadly my feline companion here can’t speak nor see – well in the sense normally see – her name is Pax Certamina. We’re… wanders like… our ‘friend’ here,” said Toxic.
The way Toxic referred Eclipse as friend was strange, but Midnight could care less about him, her focus was on the one armed with a weapon. Stepping up to Pax, the thestral and Cat-Lord looked at one another, though with one of them being blind it felt weird.
Pax gave a gentle closed-mouth smile to both Ves and Midnight, Pax turns to face Eclipse which she does some hand signs. Eclipse nods and processes her hand signals until facing the thestrals.
“She and Toxic were planning to see me about some news during their travels, they won’t be staying for long though and plan to stay in Equestria for a few days,” said Eclipse.
“While that isn’t an issue, what is an issue is the ownership and carrying of weapons, all weapons must be confiscated until departure from Equestria’s borders,” said Midnight, turning to face Pax. “Your weapon, please.”
The abyssinian gave a mute chuckle, tilting her head with another closed-mouth smile, she reaches down to her katana and un-loops a piece of rope that connected the scabbard to her waist. Once finishing un-looping the rope, she hands the weapon to Midnight, which she begins to inspect it.
Unsheathing the weapon she’s surprised to find that the weapon is entirely devoid of a blade, leaving the katana blade-less and only a handle and sheath. Raising her brow, Midnight looks to both Pax and Toxic for answers, Toxic responds.
“Ah, that’s just a memento from her homeland, really its more of an intimidation tool than a weapon. You wish to look at my belongings?” Toxic tries to reach for the large object wrapped in dirty wrappings behind him, Ves takes a sniff of the object on Toxic, but gags and backs off immediately.
“That’s fine, I think the smell alone is enough of a threat though… you might want to get that checked,” said Ves, covering her snout.
“Hehhehe, yeah…”
The Tartarus is that, it smells like something was rotting, decaying, and dead in the sun and was left to lay in the sun for months.
With a skeptical look, Midnight takes another once over the weapon – if it could be classified as one – until sighing; sheathing the katana back, she hoofs back to Pax who loops back to her waist once more. After she was done, she does a bow with her claw on her other claw into a fist, bowing down to the two.
“She is grateful you didn’t take it away, as it holds deep emotional feelings to her,” said Eclipse. Pax faces Eclipse and begins signing some more which he processing some more.
“What did she say?” asked Ves.
“She and Toxic have to leave, they have plans outside of Equestria and need to leave immediately. It was good to see you two again, tell the others my greetings,” said Eclipse, giving his own bow to the two.
Toxic and Pax do their own respective bows until waving and saying their farewells to both Ves and Midnight. The two thestrals watched the drake and abyssinian leave, disappearing beyond the trees until their silhouettes vanish among the shrubbery.
Now that we’re done with that, let’s get to why I’m really here.
“Sir Eclipse, sorry for interrupting your conversation with your old companions,” said Ves.
“No worries, but my focus now is why do you two wished to see me?” asked Eclipse.
“Yes… well, you see, its about that invitation you received for the Gala – yes I know, I heard from Miss Sparkle you received one along with the rest of her friends.”
Ves, Midnight, and Eclipse discuss about his plans to going to the Gala, how this may effect with his bad reputation with the Church, and about any precautions he may have taken when going. Ves furthers explains that the Gala will not only involve well-known nobles and other figures, but members and high-class supporters of the Church.
Further on in the conversation, Ves suggests that Eclipse at least take some guards to come alongside him to the Gala for protection – not that he can’t handle himself, from what they seen – that and to lessen any damages and problems that may occur at the Gala.
“Its just a precaution Sir Eclipse, as you know the Church are still holding a sore-spot for your interference at Ponyville.”
“Well… does Orion know you plan to come with me to the Gala?”
“Of course, he even agrees with me, but he plans to stay in Ponyville and watch your property in case the Church send anypony to steal anything from you. Will you agree to us coming with you?”
Eclipse turns around to gaze at the sky, until after a few minutes of deliberation he comes to a conclusion.
“Fine, I’ll agree,” said Eclipse. For a moment Ves was about to smile, but Eclipse raises his hoof to stop her from saying anything else. “However, only four of you can come, including you that’s five guards, so if I were you, pick who you bring, carefully.”
With a sigh, Ves gives in and accepts his terms, leaving with Midnight, Eclipse stops the two to ask one more question. “Before you go… why do you wish to come with me? I mean, I knew some members of the Church would be present in the Gala, its one of the few events in which you may personally meet Celestia so I assume the Church’s members are just salivating to meet their ‘goddess’… What exactly do you gain to going to the event that you – a guard – could just request being stationed at for a day?
For a short moment, Ves face darkens as she gazes at the ground with hidden contempt, in that moment, Midnight was surprised at this sudden change in Ves’ persona.
“...Its… personal, just indulge my selfishness for a little while, Sir Eclipse,” said Ves, giving an empty smile. Unlike Ves’ usual cocky smiles, this one lacked her usual bravado, which intrigued Eclipse even further. Once the two left, Eclipse was left to his own devices, gazing at Canterlot in the distance, with a look of curiosity and amusement.
I think things will get quite interesting at the Gala… I wonder how things will end that night.
Everfree Forest; 2:30pm
Both Pax and Toxic left Ponyville an hour and a half after the two decided to roam town a little – they quickly left when Toxic was a tad perturbed by some weird pink mare that kept popping out of nowhere, talking about parties and cake. The two decided to wander the strange forest that was situated near the town, the strange energies the forest gave off was quite intriguing to the pair… that and Toxic was bored and wanted to kill something.
Just some distance away, the melted puddle of mush that was a cragadile remained as Toxic flattened his suit of the wrinkles on it. “That was one feisty beast, but it was enough to ebb my hunger for now. So now, you want head back or hang around this place a little bit more?”
Pax continues to walk alongside Toxic, keeping her calm look while Toxic placed both his claws to the back of his head in a lax manner. “This body is tad odd you know, though I got no quarrels. Did you know I can fire flames with the same side-effects like my powers, heh, didn’t expect that tree to melt, was expecting it to burst to flames you know… Say, anything different about you than your regular self?”
Toxic only received more silence and a glance from his blind compatriot, which Toxic waved at her with a dainty wave of his claw. “Yeah yeah, I know, this world takes us in the form that best fits out powers, though at a… redundant state was it? No no, a… lesser-form, that’s it!”
Just as the two are about to walk some more, Pax suddenly pauses, her usual calm smile morphing to a concentrated frown; Toxic continues to walk but stops, turning around with his own look of confusion.
“Hey, what’cha doing, we gotta head back to the others and report. You notice something?”
Before Toxic could approach her, Pax dashes to the left and away from Toxic, which he watches her vanish for a short moment then sighing in defeat. “Welp, if you can’t stop em… join them,” said Toxic, with a grin and following Pax.
While running or flying through a forest like the Everfree would be challenging, since crashing into the thick trunks or branches of the Everfree trees would be a hazard, Pax had no qualms or problems whatsoever. Rushing in speeds that no natural creature would be capable of doing in Equestria, Pax swiftly and fluidly ran through the trees, swerving and side-stepping any incoming trees in her path, to anyone who witnessed this it appear she ran by the trees as if she were the wind itself.
Now leaving the dense forestry, Pax comes upon a sudden cliff, which she stops just as she stood on the edge of said cliff. Her blind gaze stares at the distant horizon until she her gazes moves down below the shift drop of the cliff.
At the bottom of a sheer cliff-side is a small camp of ponies who’re wearing the same colors and armor of the Church, specifically, the Inquisitors. At that moment, Toxic manages to catch up with Pax, while not tired a tad befuddled by his companion’s sudden disappearance.
“Okay, seriously what was that all about that caught your attention to bring you all the way here?”
Looking down too, he sees the inquisitors, without a word or slight gesture, Pax takes one single step forward and free-falls straight toward the group, feet first. None of the inquisitors at first notice or even heard Toxic from above, but the sudden plume of dust and dirt appearing in the middle of their camp immediately got their attention; immediately all the inquisitors investigate the sudden noise until they come upon a abyssinian standing in the middle of their camp.
Many of the inquisitors are shocked by Pax’s sudden appearance, but they get their bearings and quickly surround her. Those armed already are closer to her by a few meters while others are grabbing their weapons or put on what armor they can find, this sudden rush to arm themselves last for several minutes until only two or three of them are missing some pieces of their armor.
Rather than join, Toxic sits at the edge of the cliff and watches the ‘show’. This is going to be fun to watch.
Pax’s blind gaze shifts to all the inquisitors surrounding her, which only disturbs them all as they notice she’s blind yet Pax can tell where they are – whether it be the slight jangling of their armor, the shifting of their hooves on the ground, or the subtle inhale and exhale of their breathing.
At first nothing happens, but one impatient inquisitor steps forward to get closer to Pax. “You, abyssinian! What are you doing at our camp, answer quickly or you will face the consequences!?”
Pax stays silent, which is not surprising as she’s mute… which none of the ponies before her know of that. After several threats and warnings, the one inquisitor who spoke begins to get frustrated at her lack of responding, without much courtesy or warning the inquisitor unsheathes his weapon and points it at Pax.
“LISTEN HERE YOU FOUL RODENT-EATER! IF YOU DO NOT SURRENDER AND LAY DOWN YOUR ARMS WE WILL SMITE YOU IN THE NAME OF OUR GODDESS!”
Even after shouting his warning Pax stands there giving her signature close-mouth smile, this only aggravates that stallion more which he charges forth without warning or ordering the others. After taking several steps and getting with half a meter of Pax, the stallion freezes in place just before he could even swing his weapon at Pax.
(Outro Music)
Those who were closest to Pax, look at their frozen comrade, some even shouting out name and trying to coax him out of his sudden frozen state. Movement starts happening, but the inquisitor that charged Pax suddenly drops their sword from their magical hold, soon a sudden shudder travels across their body then… his head slides off his motionless body and a fountain of blood spurts to the sky.
The crimson spray starts covering everything, the ground, the cliff-side walls, the nearby tents, and the other inquisitors. Even though Pax was the closest to the spray, not a single drop lands at or near her, as this happens, the other inquisitors start panicking, screams of shock and horror begin spreading to their ranks.
As the dead inquisitor’s body stops its crimson spraying, it falls flat to the ground like a stack of cards, Pax who stood there and did nothing – within the inquisitors sight – smiled even further, her mouth opening wide to show her glistening white teeth. Taking a few gentle steps forward, walking over the dead inquisitor's body and head, Pax takes in her surroundings and the inquisitors around her, and opens her mouth.
“Oculum pro oculo…”
Toxic watched and listened to the screams of agony and terror that echoed from below as the inquisitors were cut to ribbons, steel, muscle, flesh, bone, it didn’t matter as all became equal before battle – all are made equal in war.
The last cry of the inquisitor was snuffed out as Pax stood in the middle of a bloodbath as bodies and other viscera were splayed everywhere, a small splotch of blood managed to land on her cheek which Pax touches with her right index and middle fingers. Turning to face the cliff-side wall, she jumps up the several meters high rock wall and lands beside Toxic.
The drake pulls out of his suit jacket pocket a handkerchief to Pax with a smile. “Milady,” said Toxic with a joking tone and smile.
Pax accepts it with her normal closed-mouth smile, dabbing the blood splotch from her cheek, as Pax dabs the blood away, Toxic turns to face the bloodied campsite, with a clawed hand stretched and pointing at the campsite, a green miasma spews forth from his palm.
The green miasma consumes the entirety of the campsite – the bodies and any objects left by the inquisitors – whole, leaving only an empty patch of dust remaining. With a satisfied sigh and grunt, Toxic takes back the handkerchief from Pax and walks back with her and leaves the area.
“Ahhhh, what a lovely meal,” said Toxic.
Once the two finally leave the area, stepping out of the nearby darkness of the forest is Luella, the cub bear watching the pair leave into a swirling dark portal. After making sure the two are gone, Luella gazes at the sky with a look of annoyance at this new development; with a snort, she turns around and wanders back to the darkness of the forest canopy.
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Good Stuff as always :)
10611351
Not just the Units but the gear too, it seems that Equestria has stagnated in military tech due to their reliance on magic and it shows in their Ground Pounders and Air Calvary.
Magic is a wonderful force multiplier, but it’s not infallible or impossible to counter. The Guard needs a major and immediate military overhaul and upgrade to counter this.
On a side note, can you refresh me (or point me to the chapter) on why Celestia is reluctant to adapt Firearms and other military resources? I find that foolish and counterproductive to her need to protect her people!
10611499
I actually haven't gotten to the point of the story about that detail, in short it has to do again with over-reliance for magic and the fact Equestria has been in peace for a thousand years so Equestria's military has atrophied slightly, but that'll change due to Eclipse's inventions, the Church's decisions, and other issues arising across Equestria - for example the situation going in Manehattan about a serial killer on the loose.
I love it.
This continues to be a great story.
Keep up the good work.
Thumbs up with the new guards. It was fun to see what you did with Midnight Sun and Night Rain.
The Monk
"Knowledge is power and power corrupts, so study hard and be evil." - Reykan
ok trying to figure out Bob's "true" poney name. "Hair Bob" or "sewing (machine) Bob" or "Bob Fish" (a breed of fish) or Boxing Bob?
10644430
Hope you manage to figure his actual name, there are plenty of clues what it is based off the paragraph introducing him in detail.
10645045
Bob Sled?
10666274
Nope, but here's a hint, it has to do with martial arts.
10666328
Know that some of your names you pick could be Punned, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s Jo Bob.
On a side note, was this a repost? I remember reading this but it being shorter?