Change of Perspective (Edited)
One Week Later – Train from Canterlot to Ponyville; 9:00am
September 18, Year 1010
Myself and several other members of both the Royal Guard and Lunar Guard have been selected to be the new guard stationed at a small town called Ponyville. Previous records state that the town never had any guards posted here before and the only reason this new change was made is because of the recent developments of the Church of the Holy Sun assaulting the town under “false-pretenses”. Further investigations has revealed zero evidence of any of the followed reasons the Church had to attacking the town, but with this new insight brought to the princesses and the Canterlot nobility, they had made the decision to invest resources in building and stationing a guard barracks and at least a squad of twelve – myself included – guards stationed here.
Eight from the Royal Guard and four from the Lunar Guard, each one of us were selected from various guard stations from different parts of Equestria. While the thestrals were selected by Princess Luna herself, First Lieutenant Orion Grey and Private First Class Crystal came from Canterlot; I don’t know much about Crystal, but Orion is known by both the Canterlot Guard and other guard companies, it was said he was a possible candidate to become Captain of the Guard at Canterlot, though that position was taken by Captain Shining Armor.
The twins – Private E-2 Yin and Private E-2 Yang – were both stationed from Baltimare, they surprisingly have their own reputation for being… unpredictable.
Sergeant Iris, she… well… when I first met her she made an interesting first introduction, though her skill with magic is extraordinary considering she was raised in Vanhoover, a city not known for having a lot of unicorns.
Private E-1 Soapstone and Private E-1 Heart Beat, they were hoof-picked from Manehattan after asking to be transferred; apparently, something strange is happening in Manehattan but they won’t go into further details, mostly because they don’t know and that it is mostly rumor and gossip… but, the information has been interesting so far.
The Lunar Guard while small compared to the ones stationed in Manehattan and Canterlot, all four of its members each have their own individual reputations and skills. Out of the four the most notable is Sergeant Ves – her full name is Vespertilio, an old thestral name passed down from parent-to-child. She comes from one of the older pure-blood thestral tribes and her skills at both combat, leadership, and strategy put her on-par with the best strategists in Equestrian history… it was upsetting that she couldn’t become – or rather join – the Royal Guard, she would of made an excellent Royal Guard to follow under.
Our objective today is to go to Ponyville, meet the princess’ protege – Twilight Sparkle – and be escorted to the newly built Ponyville Barracks.
After finishing writing down her recent log, Clear Sight closed her notebook and placed it away into her saddlebag. Sight was a pegasus who was previously stationed at Cloudsdale, her cutiemark is a pair of glasses; her calculative and serious personality made her the staff sergeant of her previous squad.
Glancing in the train cart, she looked upon her fellow guards, as they each busied themselves by speaking in short conversations or absently awaited the train to stop soon. Among them was Orion Grey who was speaking to Ves about their arrival to Ponyville.
“After we meet Twilight Sparkle, we’ll set up a patrol schedule and also give a speech to the local populace in the afternoon tomorrow. We’ll begin training on the day after the speech at exactly seven o’clock,” said Orion.
“When are we getting the remainder of our guards, we’re practically not at the amount I’d expect to be stationed at a town this size?” asked Ves, a tad annoyed.
“Well for now we’re the only ones being stationed here, we don’t want to put all our cards on the table.”
Ves seemed to fold her hooves in an angry pout before she chuckled to herself. “You were always the one to never risk it all without knowing what you’re trotting into.”
Clear Sight looked outside, the rolling hills, endless forests, and bright blue skies passed by, Canterlot growing smaller and smaller with each passing second. In the distance the faraway buildings of Ponyville were approaching; from what she heard, each of them were summoned and selected by their royal majesties due to various factors, being chosen for this new guard branch.
So far, myself and my fellow guards are selected for our different skills and experiences, how that’ll fair in a town that has never had guards posted here before will make things interesting.
Ponyville, Eclipse’s Property; 9:30am
“Hmmmmmm...” Eclipse sat on his recently made fishing dock, as he sat on a chair with fishing pole in hoof. He stared at the crystal clear water awaiting for a catch to come, having to live with a carnivorous companion, he often catches enough fish for a week to feed Luella… and other uses.
The past week has been interesting to say the least, ranging from a dragon roosting near Ponyville to a local zebra living in the Everfree Forest. Eclipse wasn’t present in any of these as he had business outside of town; when he gotten back, it was just a day after the whole poison joke incident. Twilight and the girls soon found out that Eclipse was well acquainted with Zecora, sometimes visiting her to trade some of her herbs and various other potions for his own rare and interesting wares.
With that known, Twilight tried to corner him to answer all her questions, but due to the new guard branch being made, she and the whole town were too busy with anything else. Luckily Eclipse wasn’t needed for this so he was left to his own devices… that still didn’t stop a persistent unicorn from trying.
“Oh come on! At least answer my question, why do you need Zecora’s potions and herbs for? From what I know of you, you seem fine on your own, so having to ask Zecora for things you most likely can find on your own doesn’t make sense,” said Twilight.
“As I said again, Zecora is a friend and business partner, by asking for her own mixtures and herbs she gathers personally from the Everfree, she has access to my own wares and supplies… you think the only food she gets is from the forest?”
Twilight scuffed the ground with a huff, laying on the beach were some of her friends, Fluttershy, Rarity and surprisingly Rainbow who was lazing on a cloud close to the ground. Rarity and Rainbow were both done with their own individual work and Fluttershy was always free to visit her dear friend Eclipse. Spike came walking to the mares with glasses of ice tea with lemons on them, waddling beside him was Luella who had a bone in her mouth.
“Here you go girls, some nice fresh ice tea for everypony,” said Spike, handing the glasses to them.
“Oh thank you Spikey-Wikey, you’re such a dear,” said Rarity, levitating a glass.
“Thanks Spike! Seriously though, you gotta chill Twilight, you’ve been working constantly for those preparations for this new guard branch for nearly the entire week! Just relax and chill.”
“That’s not true, Mayor Mare and Pinkie have each been making preparations for the guards stationed here too, I helped with the barracks and the guard presentation in the afternoon tomorrow. I’ve been occupied with other things if you must know.”
“Like bothering Eclipse since he got back from his business trip,” said Spike.
“Ye- WHAT, NO!” The girls and Spike laughed while Twilight’s flustered look and beet-red face was clear all over her. Eclipse didn’t mind the friendly banter, focused on his current task, patiently he waited and then comes the bite. Feeling the tight strong pull, Eclipse lifted the rod with all his might and what came out was his fifth fish, the new catch flopping into a bucket along with four others.
Luella approached the bucket full of treats before Eclipse swatted her snout. “Eat later, these are for later.” Huffing, the cub waddled off toward Fluttershy, laying on her lap.
“I find it interesting you know how to fish Eclipse, not many ponies know basic fishing unless they were born near a port.”
“I have experience...” Throwing his line, Eclipse awaited for another bite when Twilight continued her rant.
“Pleeease, can you at least answer one of my questions?”
Eclipse kept his gaze steady but faced Twilight with a flat-look. “Again, my business is my own and you should focus on yours, the train for the guards is coming soon.” Looking up at the sky, Twilight paid attention to the positioning of the sun.
“Sigh, I suppose you’re right, come on Spike, we need to prepare for the arrival of the new guard branch of Ponyville.” Setting the plate he used to carry the ice tea to the ground, Spike followed Twilight to the train station.
“Goodbye Rarity, you too everypony!”
The girls waved goodbye at their friends and continued to relax… or they would when an audible beeping from Eclipse was heard. Pulling something out of a satchel near him, was a stopwatch, stopping the alarm and putting it away. Picking up his fishing rod and bucket of fish, he trotted to the girls and passed them. “Excuse me, it appears I have something to do as well, it was nice having you all visit. Come along Luella.”
Hearing Eclipse, Luella stood up and followed him back to the shack and to wherever he needed to go next. The girls watched him go before Rainbow stretched herself, grabbing the cloud she was laid on and letting it float back up.
“Well I gotta go, I wanna see these guards being posted here. See you all later at noon!” Rainbow flew off, soon Rarity herself left saying she needed to wear something to meet the guard too, saying her farewells to Fluttershy.
Now left alone, Fluttershy soon left, but heard the voice again. As the clock ticks, a trail of events will lead to terrible things to come. The six go through trial after trial, but can they face what’s to come?
“Ohhh, please Mr Voice, can’t we talk about something else?” For awhile the voice would come and go but never answer back to her, it stopped frightening her after the first few times she heard it, but sometimes Fluttershy worried what the voice said… that it was something more than just simple words.
Ponyville, Ponyville Train Station; 10:00am
Twilight stood with Spike, awaiting for the train’s arrival in the distance, the train with the new Ponyville Royal and Lunar Guard Branch were soon arriving. She was told of the two leading officers – First Lieutenant Orion Grey of the Royal Guard and Sergeant Ves of the Lunar Guard – who were both selected by the princesses as well as several other chosen guards.
While the guards were small in number for a town like Ponyville, it was temporary for the next couple of months, with the size increasing later. Awaiting the train, it slowed down with a loud hiss and blare of the horn; with the smoke clearing, the doors opened with several armored ponies coming out.
From left to right, two columns of five guards – the left consisting of one pegasi and four earth ponies, the right with three thestrals and two unicorns – another two standing in the middle adorning higher ranked armor than the usual fully golden or dark purple armor that either the Royal Guard or Lunar Guard are known to wear.
“First Lieutenant Orion Grey and Sergeant Ves, it’s nice to meet you, I am Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia’s student. I was sent here to meet you two and show you where the newly built guard barracks is and for you to meet the town’s mayor.”
“It’s wonderful to meet you too Twilight, but please call me Orion and my companion Ves just by our names. You’re simply a civilian and not part of the military, there’s no need for you to call us by rank,” said Orion.
“R-Right, sorry, now let me show you the way.” Soon the group and their luggage followed Twilight to the barracks. They trotted by various townsfolk who watched the newly arrived guard, some with curious looks and others with impressed gazes.
One of the thestrals gazed happily at his surroundings, trying to take in everything about his new surroundings. “Woooow, so this is a rural town, never been into any of the pony settlements,” said Mango, skipping happily.
“You been only stationed at a city, right Mango?” asked Basket.
“Righty-oh! I bet the fruits they got here are delish, especially those apples, they look fiiine!”
The guards while consisting of both members of the Royal Guard and Lunar Guard, both groups were individually unique consisting of their separate experiences and skills. While Orion was the leading officer, he was still considered only responsible of the Royal Guard while Ves was in charge of the Lunar Guard.
As the group carried their belongings to the newly built barracks, they encountered one of Twilight’s friends, Pinkie Pie; the bouncy mare hopped toward them before smiling as brightly as usual. “Hi Twilight, are these the new guard ponies sent by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna!”
“Yes Pinkie, this is the guards that were sent by their majesties. Orion, I like you to meet my friend, Pinkie Pie,” said Twilight.
“Hi I’m Pinkie Pie, I’m the number one party-planner in Equestria! Let’s celebrate a ‘Welcome to Ponyville Guardponies’, party!” After saying that, a blast of confetti came out of nowhere, covering everyone.
The guards looked at Pinkie incredulously, leaving only Pinkie and Mango smiling at each other. “Oooooh, I like her!” said Mango.
After some more introductions, the group continued making their way to the barracks; the building itself was a three-story building with a basement. The main floor consisted of the lobby with stairs that led to the second floor, a cafeteria for guards, a recreation room, public washrooms, and a front desk, stairs to the basement were beneath and around the stairs to the second floor. The second floor had the majority of the offices, with one large room being where all the guards shared their separate office spaces with two separate offices for the officer of the Royal Guard and Lunar Guard, a small storage room was in place too for office supplies or cleaning supplies, the stairs to the third floor was beside the storage room.
The third floor held all the guards’ personal rooms, each having its own bathroom, while Orion and Ves had balconies for their rooms. The basement held the armory, holding cell, research room, and a vault to hold anything of importance and the guards’ bits they receive from either the town or the princesses.
Finally arriving, the group gazed at their new base of operations – the first official guard barracks of Ponyville. “So this is where we’re going to stay at,” said Crystal. “Not shabby I suppose.”
“Quit complaining Crystal,” said Beat.
“DIBS ON WHICH ROOM I PICK!” shouted Mango, zooming into the building. The rest of the guards soon followed except for Orion, Ves, and Sight.
“Thank you for leading us here Twilight, I remember earlier that a local would give us the required space to train, correct. Where would we meet this pony?”
“Ummm, I wouldn’t call him a ‘local’,” said Twilight, chuckling. This raised a brow from Orion, Ves picked up her bags and headed upstairs, prodding Orion to follow.
“Come on, we should make sure they don’t cause a mess and remind them that they’re off for today but are to be ready for the guard presentation tomorrow.” Nodding in turn, Orion said farewell to Twilight, but as the two officers left, Twilight was left with Clear Sight outside.
The two didn’t speak for awhile but after some awkward standing, Spike decided to speak up alongside with Pinkie.
“Hi, I’m Pinkie, what’s your name?”
“Staff Sergeant Clear Sight, mam, something I can help you with?”
“We just wanted to know who you are,” said Spike.
“I see, but if that is all, I’m going to explore the town to report any possible patrol paths we can choose to my superiors, excuse me,” said Sight. As she left, they watched her leave with a stoic but calm trot, a very professional form compared to the rest of the guards that came off the train.
“Well she was… interesting,” said Twilight.
“OHHH! I should get their ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party ready! Could you tell them it’ll begin around 6:30pm, Twilight?” Nodding back, Pinkie grinned and hopped away back to the bakery, now by themselves, Twilight looked at Spike.
“Come on, we should head back to the library for now and tell Princess Celestia that the guards arrived with no problems.” Leaving, everyone went their separate ways, Clear Sight wandered the town of Ponyville, checking the various stores, talking to the shopkeepers – sometimes buying certain items – until she shortly made her way to the local park.
Sight was reviewing her notebook, writing down her recent observations and drawing some perfect copies of some landmarks of the town for future reference. Sugarcube Corner is where that bubbly mare, Ms. Pie lives and works at. Golden Oaks Library is where Ms. Sparkle resides with her assistant and there is also the town hall, a store called the Carousal Boutique and a particular area called Sweet Apple Acres. Apparently the Element of Honesty – Applejack – lives with her brother, sister, and grandmother, they’re apparently a big reason why this town exists, maybe I should convince the lieutenant if we can gain provisions from them instead of waiting for supplies by train.
Thinking to herself, Sight spotted something interesting from a distance, waddling on all fours was a particular bear cub. It had an unnatural fur color and the most peculiar cerise eyes she’s ever seen before. The cub was busy wandering the park by itself and while it did have a collar, having a wandering predatory animal without it’s owner nearby was a big safety problem. Appears I won’t be doing nothing for today after all.
Ponyville, Ponyville Barracks; 11:00am
Once done unpacking and getting adjusted to the layout of the barracks, all the guards except for Orion and Ves who needed to see Mayor Mare personally and do paperwork later would be busy for the day. This left all the guards from the Royal and Lunar Guard to explore the town; the twins, Yin and Yang went to check out the marketplace, while Fang, Soapstone, and Crystal went to the tavern for some drinks.
Iris went to Sugarcube Corner with Heart Beat – who she dragged along – leaving only Mango and Fruit Basket to check out the park by themselves. Mango wanted to go to the local bakery but enjoyed Fruit’s company more and decided to go with her. “What’cha wanna do Fruity?” asked Mango.
“Not much, really I want to go rest but I think checking out the town when most of the townsfolk are up than in the evening is a better way to introduce ourselves to them. You could have joined Iris and Heart to that bakery, I know you wanted to try some of those sweets.”
“Nah, I kinda enjoy being with you. Besides, where’s the fun without my fellow thestral to watch my back!” Mango wrapped a leg around Fruit, smiling back at her, smiling in turn the two enjoyed their walk through town until they spotted a familiar figure. Ahead of them was Clear Sight who was prone down and behind some shrubbery, she was staring at something on the other side of the bushes.
What’s the Staff Sergeant doing? Before she could call her out, Mango flew silently up to her and he was just above her, as Mango dangled down in front of her in surprise.
“AYE CLEAR, WATTA YOU DOING?!” This spooked Sight, but she quickly grabbed the thestral back to her cover, Fruit made her way to them before being dragged to the shrubs too.
Soon the two thestrals found themselves looking at an irritated Sight who was giving them, especially Mango the stink-eye. “Don’t. Do. That. Again,” said Sight. “Now why are you two here?”
“I was wondering that myself, Mango and I were taking a walk through the park… But why are you hiding here for?”
Deciding to use her actions than words, Sight showed them an interesting sight, sat on top a rock was a bear cub that was taking a nap. The cub itself was just there, shuffling whenever the light of the sun reached it’s eyes. It wore a collar so it was definitely somepony’s pet, but the fact a carnivore was in the middle of a public area with it’s owner not being near it was a tad dangerous, whether it was properly tamed and trained.
“Whee, never seen that thing before, what you want us to do Clear?” asked Mango.
“We should report this to the lieutenant and sergeant,” said Fruit.
Sight however wasn’t paying attention as a new development was made, the cub suddenly brought one of it’s ears up before rising up and sniffing the air. Soon it departed from it’s spot and waddled off away from the rock – and from the ponies hiding near it. Getting up quickly, Sight followed the bear cub, both thestrals looked at one another, one with a worried look, the other smiling as Mango followed Sight. I have a feeling we’re going to get in big trouble. Following too, the trio of guards followed this strange cub.
Ponyville, Ponyville Marketplace; 11:15am
The twins – Yin and Yang – were at the marketplace to check out some of the produce, but they were also there to test their haggling skills. Back at Baltimare, it was a pub of trade unlike other port cities, so the twins were known to get some excellent trade deals with merchants for their guard company… sadly this sort of got them in trouble sometimes.
“Twenty bits for these carrots.” The shopkeeper owner was trying to sell some carrots to this strange pair and while usually he would of sold it to them for ten, they wanted it lower and now he was thinking of upping the price.
Yin – the sister and quieter of the two – looked at her twin, whispering into her ear, understanding what she said, Yang approached – the brother and talkative one – looked at the shopkeeper and smiled. “Now now, let’s not increase the size like that, we just want two carrots and it seems a tad much to sell two carrots for ten bits, so we wanted to scale it down to five. Bringing up the price because you only sell them in bags of five to seven carrots seems to be a bit… forceful, what if the buyer wants a certain amount, then how can you get business then?”
“Nopony has complained before so I don’t know why you won’t buy a bushel of my carrots!”
“Because we’re just looking for a snack is all,” said Yang.
“Then go eat at that bakery or some restaurant, I’m trying to sell my produce here!” Yang while the nicer of the two, can be a bit… rambunctious and would sometimes respond in an active way. Yin raised her hoof to stop her brother and approached the shopkeeper.
“...How much is a bushel?” The shopkeeper smiled and leaned forward to tell her the amount.
“Again its ten bits and I’ll give you seven carrots per bag.”
Here Yin stayed quiet before looking back at the shopkeeper with a calm, but eerie look. “That pricing doesn’t make sense,” said Yin, calmly.
Before the shopkeeper could talk, Yin rose her hoof to stop him and continued to speak. “If you were to divide the amount of bits and the number of carrots you are willing to sell, they don’t add up. You’d get 1.4 bits per carrot, technically it should be five carrots for ten bits and the fact you are unwilling to sell two carrots for just five bits which is not only cheaper and less of your product being used up per day for you, means you sir don’t understand the proper management of selling your wares.”
Some jaws lowered at the sudden exposition this mare gave, but she wasn’t done yet as she said a few more things. “Not only that, but you tried to double the amount to twenty just because you won’t sell less of what you usually sell. Is there a reason why you’re trying to sell so many carrots?” The shopkeeper stayed quiet but sighed to himself, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Yep, some weeks ago I had this deal with some trader from Manehattan who wanted to buy my carrots – at least two hundred carrots. Sadly, because of what’s going on there recently, the place is on lockdown meaning my produce can’t get there, unless I sign several documents which I don’t have the time or money to do… So now I have a surplus of carrots which wouldn’t be a problem, but things recently have been slow and I’m not the only carrot-seller… So I been trying to sell in bushels than my usual customer selection nowadays, even if I have to sell those bushels cheap.”
Yin and Yang looked at one another before, Yang spoke next. “How about we buy those carrots for you for five hundred bits and that any time we come to buy, we get two carrots for only five bits… deal?” Showing his hoof to the shopkeeper, the stallion shook it vigorously but soon raised his brow.
“Where you going to get that kinda money from?”
“Oh don’t worry, we’re from the new guard branch here in Ponyville, just send it to our barracks by the evening and we’ll handle the rest,” said Yang.
After done with their shopping the twins waved goodbye to the shopkeeper and made off with their two carrots. “Now that was some good dealing sis… but I thought we came here to haggle?” asked Yang.
“We did, we also learned that a carrot costs around three bits here, unlike back home they cost five bits for just one. Appears a lot of things are cheaper in the midland area of Equestria,” said Yin.
“You got that right – these are some tasty carrots,” said Yang, biting into his. As the two walked, they spotted Sight, Mango, and Fruit sneaking by while following what appears to be a bear cub. The twins watched them go before they looked at one another. “You wanna follow?”
“Not in the mood, let’s go to that apple stall next, the apples there seem decent enough,” said Yin.
Ponyville, Ponyville Squre; 11:30am
Stepping out of the bakery, Iris and Heart carried some bags full of pastries, Iris twirled around with a smile while Heart sighed from having been brought along by the sergeant. “WOOHOO! Now those were some delicious pastries! Ohhhh I can’t wait to show these to the others soon!” said Iris.
“Please sergeant, can we head back now, I was in the middle of something before you dragged me along,” said Heart.
“Oooooh no sirree, we still need to head to the local clothes maker, I heard her designs are just fabulous!” Heart sighed but in the corner of her eye she saw three familiar guards following something, but she was unable to catch a look before she was dragged along by Iris once more. “Cooome on, let’s gooooo!”
I hope whatever their doing is better than what I’m doing right now.
Meanwhile with the trio – they followed the cub further into town, into alleyways, empty streets until they came upon the cub crossing a bridge to what appears to be the town school. The cub stopped at the steps of the school, before pawing the ground around it, sniffing the air again.
“What’s it trying to do?” asked Mango.
Continuing to watch, the front door of the school opened as a mare with a cutiemark that has three flowers with smiley faces on them. The mare looked down at the cub as the cub gave what appeared to be a greeting from the small creature by rubbing it’s head against her leg. The cub looked up at the mare with it’s beady eyes, before it went off again on a different direction.
“Well it appears that mare is familiar with the cub, but she doesn’t appear to be the owner,” said Fruit. “Maybe it’s trying to find it’s owner.”
“Possibly, for now we’ll follow, it isn’t safe to keep a carnivorous animal wandering on it’s own whether the owner has gone missing or not.”
As they tailed the cub even further on, they soon had to traverse a forest before ending up on a clearing. At first they didn’t notice anything, but standing in the middle of the clearing was a stallion who was planting some kind of wooden spire into the ground. It was at least two meters long, at the top was some kind of purple crystal; the ground around the crystal was cleared of grass, especially near the wooden spire as it was replaced with gravel.
Sight stepped out of cover to approach the stallion with both Mango and Fruit later joining; the cub bear approached the stallion, rubbing against one of his legs before turning to face the three newcomers. Eclipse turned to face the three new faces, facing Sight with his calm gaze.
“Hello, can I help you three?” asked Eclipse.
“Is this you’re bear?” asked Sight.
“In a sense, yes.”
“If so, you need to keep better watch of where she goes, you could cause a ruckus if somepony were to see… her...” Mango took a closer look to confirm, wondering how she figured that out, while Eclipse gazed at Luella who was rubbing her fur down.
“She’s very familiar with the townsfolk, that and she’s smarter than you think so if she were to terrify somebody she’ll give them some space. If you are here worried about her wandering town, then you three must be the new guards that’ll be stationed here.”
Sight nodded with Fruit coming up forward to greet Eclipse. “Hello, my name is Fruit Basket, here are my companions Mango and Clear Sight. We’re indeed some of the guards that are being stationed here, I was just wondering, but what are you doing out here?”
Eclipse faced the spire, placing a hoof on the wooden shaft; the surface had various markings scratched onto it of an unreadable language. Some kind of language or possibly a sort of rune-writing.
“Are you making some sort of magic script onto that spire?” asked Sight, pointing a hoof at the strange symbols.
“Close, but I call it aura sigils from where I come from… You seem knowledgeable for a pegasus, not trying to be assumptive,” said Eclipse.
“There’s no problem in being prepared for anything, especially coming from the earth pony who’s using said items that seem to be magical in nature,” said Sight.
The two gave each other a good stare, one bland and inexpressive, the other calculative and cold; the staring stopped as Mango propped himself in the middle and flew up to the spire. “Sooooo, what’s this purple gem supposed to be?”
“That’s an Energy Crystal, they’re capable of absorbing electrical currents from either thunderclouds or magic with an affinity with lightning. I’m testing them to make a product to absorb thunderbolts during the more intense rainy days. I was told it would rain some time this evening, an acquaintance mentioned there will be thunder later. I’m testing the prototypes for my thunder-rods and see if they’ll work.”
Fruit had a thoughtful look before realization came to her, realizing who she was speaking to. “By any chance… are you the resident who’ll allow us to use your property to train at?” asked Fruit.
Eclipse looked at her and with a nod he went back to examining his spire. He… isn’t how I imagined at all, Princess Luna told us that an eccentric but experienced warrior would allow us to train at his home. I expected some grizzled guard or maybe some mercenary from outside the country… he… looks younger than I imagined.
“Looks can be deceiving.” Fruit came back from her thoughts and looked at Eclipse who was still examining the spire, but had spoken again. “You shouldn’t be fooled by one’s appearance… Done, the spire is finished now and if you want you can see where you’ll be training.”
Eclipse picked some saddlebags and made his way back to town, Fruit watched him leave before Mango and Sight followed behind. “He’s weird… I like him,” said Mango, giddily.
“I can see the eccentric part, but how trained is he in combat for Princess Luna to be impressed,” said Sight. “Come along Private Fruit, we might gain some battle experience after all.”
Fruit watched her fellow guards follow Eclipse, she felt something near her leg and looking down was the cub bear. It gazed up with her cerise eyes before snorting and waddling toward Eclipse, Fruit continued to gaze at him before following soon after. “And I was hoping for a calm walk through the park...”
Ponyville, Ponyville Barracks; 12:15pm
Crystal, Fang, and Soapstone came back from the tavern, while it was just the afternoon, they were able to get some drinks before returning back to the barracks. When they got back they soon found a majority of everypony in the cafeteria eating pastries. “Uhhh, did we miss something?” asked Crystal.
“Oh, hey you guys! Hearty and I went to that bakery we saw before and bought some pastries for everypony! Here, come and get some,” said Iris, biting into a cupcake.
The three joined them eating, enjoying the tasty treats and as they ate, Orion and Ves both came downstairs to the cafeteria to find their guards eating sweets. “I’d ask what’s going on, but I can ask that later, is everypony here?” asked Ves.
“Nah boss, Clear Sight, Fruit Basket, and the jokester are still absent,” said Fang.
“We know where they are,” said Yang. “While we were coming back to the barracks from our trip to the market, we saw the three following a blackish stallion, we know which direction they went too.”
“I’d ask one of you to get them, but we might as well hit two birds with one stone. Come on all of you, we’re going to visit where we’ll be training in this town,” said Orion. “The owner from what the princesses has told me and Ves is an ex-soldier from outside of Equestria.”
“So he’s a minotaur or griffon?” asked Soapstone.
“No, pony and he’s apparently here with some interesting items, so to start things off we need some ground rules while we’re there. Anything owned by him is not to be touched or trifled with and if any one of you even thinks of prodding anything he owns, you will be in so much shit, they’ll need an excavation team to dig you out. Do I make myself clear!”
“Sir, yes, sir!”
With that response they all made their way to where Sight and the other two Lunar Guards went to, while at the same time, Eclipse led the three guards back to his home.
They examined their surroundings and noticed the three structures – a shack, a shed and a storage building. Each of the buildings were made of a dark blue wood, with tiled roofing on them too; Eclipse soon left them to enter the storage building while Luella sat under the shade of some tree and laid there, watching them.
“So this is where we’ll be training, sweet space,” said Mango. “Heh, I can imagine some great spots to prank somepony too!”
“Come on Mango, we’re not here to make a ruckus.”
Eclipse returned but with several items that were being carried inside a cart behind him, the items inside were some training dummies, spears, swords, and some target ranges for training. Stopping in the middle of the field, he emptied the wagon and placed them on the ground.
“These are the dummies and training weapons you’ll be using, your princesses asked that I also prepare some equipment for you guards to use too.”
“We brought our own gear, but I am sure our superiors would be thankful for the gesture.” Sight examined the training swords and spears before she noticed something else in the wagon – near them was a sheathed sword. Bringing the sword up, she unsheathed it and examined the blue blade and ebony handle, with an intricate symbol of a creature with flaming wings and a single eye.
This sword… is a masterpiece. Sight soon had a hoof on her withers, looking back at her was Eclipse who soon took the sword from her before placing it back in the sheath.
“I see my weapon interests you, do you wish to test against it?” ask Eclipse. Since they first met him, he didn’t give that aura of smugness you expect of his age, but now they could feel an almost radiating pride from him.
Sight in turn smiled, strange coming from the somewhat professional mare. “By all means,” said Sight.
The group of guards were heading to where the others went until they soon came upon Twilight with her assistant and some unfamiliar mares. They recognized Pinkie, but the others were some new faces, the two groups soon met each other on the edge of some trees.
“Oh, Orion, Ves! Are you here to visit Eclipse?”
“Ah, so that’s the stallion that led our guards here, yes but we are also here to introduce our guards to where they’ll train. We also heard some of our other guards went here too, how about we go see this Eclipse Light, he has been the word recently at Canterlot ever since one of those cult’s recent actions,” said Ves.
“Ves, remember we don’t call them that,” said Orion.
“Oh come now Orion, what would you call a group of fanatics who praise one of the princesses like some almighty being of power?”
Orion kept quiet, but he made his point when he looked at her, Ves shrugged back at him before making their way through the trees.
They soon came upon a clearing with some structures and four figures, among them was Fruit and Mango who were under the shade of a tree with a bear cub laying on Fruit’s lap. What got everyone’s attention wasn’t them, but what was happening in the middle of the clearing.
Facing against each other was Eclipse and Sight, both wielding a sword and spear respectively; Eclipse was standing on his two legs while his sword was pointed to the ground with his forelegs on the hilt. Sight had her spear held by one leg expertly and stood on all three with her wings ready, the two were facing one another ready to fight any second… but waited for an unseen signal.
“Why are they just standing there?” asked Rainbow, whispering to Applejack.
“Maybe their waiting until something happens.”
“But what are they waiting for that’ll happe-”
Suddenly like that music started playing and the fight began, the two rushed forth with Eclipse charging forward, but as the two neared one another, Sight flew up and then attacked from a blind spot. As she flew right for him, Eclipse rolled to the side and began dodging several spear strikes from her.
The two moved like they were dancing with Sight on the offense and Eclipse staying defensive; everyone watched, not daring to speak as the two combatants fought each other. So, this is Eclipse Light, from what I understand he’s an ex-soldier of some unnamed nation.
“You think it’s possible I can recruit him for the Lunar Guard, he’d definitely fit with that look he has, am I right Orion,” said Ves. However she only gotten silence in turn, looking up at him he noticed he was looking at the fight, but held a focused gaze on Eclipse. “Heeey, you better not be trying to get him yourself too.”
“No… its not that… Look.”
Facing toward the fight once more, while Sight was indeed keeping Eclipse on his hooves, he was calm and dodging easily, but there was a strange look in his eyes… a sort of empty gaze… as if he detached himself completely. “I know few warriors who’re capable of going in a sort of zen moment, able to dodge and react to any action done to them… but it take decades for that kind of training… The princesses mentioned he was sixteen, correct?”
“Pretty young for an ex-soldier… but that’s not the only thing,” said Ves, paying attention.
Just as Sight was about to attack she swung her spear suddenly and charged forth and threw a hoof strike, then she grabbed her spear and was ready to swing it back. Eclipse managed to dodge the first spear swing and the strike, but as the second swing came he brought his sword up that took most of the hit. Eclipse used the force of the hit to fly some distance away from her, but soon she came back to send a flurry of spear strikes.
Keep your opponent on edge, give no chances to retaliate and when the moment comes. As she attacked she spotted an opening. Take it.
Pushing forth she brought her spear forward and managed to nick the side of Eclipse’s face, backing off she hovered some distance away. Some gasps from the girls and a few cheers from Mango and some of the guards were in response to the hit. Eclipse stood there before raising a hoof to the wound, looking at his own blood, he wiped the wound until he looked up at her.
“You have some expert training on you… sadly, it’ll take more than that to face against me,” said Eclipse.
Sight kept her guard up, but had to dodge quickly as Eclipse threw his sword like a javelin, the weapon landing some distance from her. Realizing her mistake she quickly faced Eclipse, but was too late as she found him upon her; disarming her, he quickly grabbed her by the scruff of her chest and threw her to the ground.
Continuing with his throw, he followed with several punches to her mid-section before knocking the wind from her. Getting off and dodging a punch from her, Eclipse backed off but easily moved to the side as she flew forward, as she was quickly reaching for her own weapon. Quickly getting up with her spear she then rushed forth with her weapon aimed at Eclipse, screaming a battle cry.
As she rushed up to him, the unexpected happened, one moment he was there the next he wasn’t, dazed by his disappearance she looked up to find him standing on the shaft of her spear. Gazing back with empty eyes, Eclipse launched from her spear before hitting the back of her head, splaying her on the ground.
Getting up, she turned around before finding a sword touching her muzzle, Eclipse with his weapon back, had Sight on the ground with a weapon inches from her face. “Never, underestimate an opponent from just appearances alone,” said Eclipse.
The two stared at one another before Eclipse moved the weapon away and trotted away. Soon Sight was swarmed by her fellow guards, each asking a question until Orion and Ves approached.
“First Lieutenant Orion, Sergeant Ves! I was doing some sparring with Sir Eclipse, I recommend he join the guard, sir!” Quickly up and saluting, Sight had her hoof lowered by Orion as he trotted up to Eclipse who was picking up the spear used in their duel.
Eclipse picked up the weapon before he came upon another new face. “The notorious Eclipse Light, Princesses Celestia and Luna have spoken of your deeds in this town… but I am sad that you denied wanting to join either the Royal or Lunar Guard. Those were some excellent skills you used, but I must ask… Where have you learned such fighting techniques?”
Eclipse didn’t speak, trotting by him instead, but as he trotted by he spoke quietly. “You must do what you can… in times of war,” said Eclipse, emptily.
Orion watched him leave back to the storage wagon as the girls and Spike also swarmed him too. That stallion… I don’t think the princesses were overreacting about what they saw in Ponyville.
A day before the arrival of the new guards to Ponyville – Canterlot, Canterlot Castle; 6:00pm
Orion was told to meet Princesses Celestia and Luna in Princess Celestia’s private chambers, he wasn’t told much but they wanted to tell him something about his new post in Ponyville. Arriving at the door, the two guards stationed there bowed before knocking on the door.
“First Lieutenant Orion Grey is here princesses.”
“Let him in,” said Celestia, her voice muffled. One of the guards opened the door and continued to watch the hall as Orion entered. The door closed behind him soon after he entered, Celestia and Luna were busy examining the reports about the incident at Ponyville and several other reports about the activities – or lack thereof – of the Church.
“Lieutenant, we are glad you could come,” said Luna.
“It is no problem Princess Luna, is there a reason you called me, is it about who’s going to the new barracks at Ponyville?” asked Orion.
“No… we wish to tell you of a certain resident there.” Celestia showed Orion a picture of an ebony stallion with an empty gaze. “His name is Eclipse Light, recently he just came to Equestria beyond our borders a month ago. He has brought several things – unknown items – with him and while we usually would investigate further… we have made a deal with him.”
“So you wish for me to watch his activities while I’m posted there?”
“No, not that… I want you to watch Twilight and her friends.” Orion was perplexed but allowed her to continue speaking.
“This mysterious stallion suddenly appears in Ponyville and has gotten close to Twilight and her friends, even before my student arrived he has already befriended her friends who’d have just recently became the Elements of Harmony. All of this is too sudden that somepony with skills to rival veteran guards would just prop up at the most opportune time… If something were to happen to them… So promise me this, that no matter how close they may be with this Eclipse.”
He is not to be underestimated, I fear he’s capable of more than we may believe.
Orion watched as the girls and Eclipse soon spoke about the duel, talking to each of them in turn. Don’t worry your highness… they won’t be leaving my sight.
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Spike is surely a candidate for a stand-in Element of Honesty.
Thanks for the new chapter
IT'S BEEN FIVE MILLION YEARS YOU ASS
*sniff* DON'T SCARE ME LIKE THAT
I have loved what you've done with Orion, Keep up the good work :3
*Gasp!* You used the characters I suggested!
I feel giddy! You’re welcome for giving you those character ideas!
If’n ye ever need more characters or such, I’ll be happy to oblige lol
AWESOME story! When next chapter? Xd
9651735
It'll be another lengthy one, but hopefully around the first week of next month
9652355
Sweet!
Oh god, here we go. They don't trust him for the most asinine reasons
Celestia, Luna let me tell you what I was told once: Making Friends is easy, Keeping them on the other hand.....THAT is the hard part. Eclipse is Cold, Calculating and militarily trained and yet he would do ANYTHING to keep the few friends he has made. THAT is what makes him dangerous, I would be more concerned for those who threaten or (Luna forbid) HURT his few Friends.
Edit: He PROVED that when those damn Cultists attacked the town, I would think him taking on close to an ENTIRE BATTALION of Cultist Fanatics would have shown that.