CH 68 Crash’s Course
Crash stared at his hoof. The room behind it still seemed giant. He knew it was just the smaller size of his younger body, but the whole situation was like a surreal dream. If it was not for his sworn duty, that's exactly what he would believe it to be.
He was one of Princess Luna's Chosen, ascended to the ranks of the most favoured of those sworn to the Sovereign, granted the blessing of a little part of her soul that nestled next to his. That most precious gift rested in his chest. A comforting coldness that poured the tireless strength of the earth into his veins with each beat of his heart.
A part of him still could not believe it. He, out of all the Nightguards had been entrusted with the safety of the Sovereign’s daughter. Not just as a bodyguard, but as a companion, a friend even. Pride and joy nestled in his heart without a single hint of guilt or sensation of unworthiness. Like all the Nightguards his life and even his very soul belonged to Luna. Night after night of brutal training, of being emotionally and mentally torn apart only to be lovingly guided back to sanity left him completely comfortable with who he was.
An extra century at least of life lay before him if only he had the skills to stay alive. All because I used to foal sit my little brother.
His sensitive ears turned this way and that seeking out for one particular sound. The hum of magic blended with the pop of displaced air. Only the sounds of murmured voices and the hoof falls of ponies moving around more conventionally reached his ears.
He let out a lazy sigh. So she's not up yet. He closed his eyes and settled back in the fluffy embrace of the giant bed.
Even with his new earth pony vigour keeping up with the four fillies definitely tested his stamina more than any Solar Guard assault course ever could.
Yesterday, without violating the letter of her restriction not to leave the castle grounds, Little Star masterminded a way to reach out and affect things miles away. A fanged smile came to his lips. "Never thought I would get to play artillerist."
A chuckle shook his chest. Slaying an insane hydra in a blighted forest and ensuring the safety of Blueblood’s relief convoy. "I can't wait to see how you're going to top that."
Something snatched him away from the precipice of sleep. It only took a moment for his memory to remind him what he almost missed. A quiet and all too familiar pop made his ear twitch.
"Well duty calls," he said to himself through a yawn.
He shook the last of the sleepiness from his head, then with a half roll and just a touch of power through his legs, he sprung out of bed. A high-pitched cry of joy, that he would deny ever making if asked, ripped free from him. His chosen route to the door bounded off two walls and finally the ceiling. Didn't even need my wings. The sheer exhilaration, the raw physicality of the earthpony magic brought was still intoxicating.
Relishing the simple joy of another of his Sovereign’s blessings, he dove into the shadows as if into a pool.
He surfaced from the almost liquid embrace of the shadows and slipped into step beside the little 'unicorn' princess as she made her rounds.
Everything she did had an energy to it, a momentum that could infect you if you let it. He was in two minds about what he saw when he looked at her. If you judged her by her serious expression and work ethic, she was no little filly. Yet, the glee when she found something new or was praised was totally one hundred and twenty percent little filly.
"Morning, Star"
Warm joy sparkled in her eyes as she turned in greetings. "Morning…” her head cocked to one side. “Why are you always up so early? You're meant to be nocturnal right?"
As a little of her happiness found a home in his own chest he shrugged with a half smirk Striker would have been proud of. "Don't want to miss out on all our fun."
Her head tilted slightly to the other side and it was as if she was looking straight through him. It was almost like a pale imitation of how the Sovereign sometimes looked, just far less daunting on such a cute face.
Her lips started to move and then she just gave the smallest of nods. Without even a spark on her horn, a scroll popped into existence. It fell for only a moment before she caught it in her aura.
"Want to help with the morning checklist?" Little Star asked with wide hope-filled eyes.
He only had seconds to act. Only moments before the largest threat to his free will was deployed. His wing lashed out claiming the scroll from Star’s aura.
The innocent grin was almost as devastating as the puppy-eyes would have been, but fortunately just below the ‘death by cuteness’ threshold.
Crash perched on the back of a chair, carefully balancing the bit of furniture on only one of its legs. He looked up from his self-imposed training at the other pony in the room with him.
Nurse Redheart busied herself sorting bandages. The expression she wore was a conflicted one. As she tried to stare through the crystal wall, relief and gratitude warred with envy and sadness. The slightly lowered ears and the restless tail told of the hints of guilt and self-loathing that added to it all, completing the mess of the mare’s emotions.
With a flick of a wing and a shift of his balance, the chair pivoted and switched which of its four legs was on the ground. Redheart’s ears did not even twitch at the sound.
To Crash, it made sense in more than one way. Her very talent was looking after ponies. She spent her entire life honing that skill and Little Star could help more with a simple wave of her horn. Add to that the attack on Ponyville and it was surprising she was holding up so well. Maybe I should ask the Sovereign to take a look when this is all over?
The door opened and Little Star walked out of surgery. Her aura softly closed the door behind her. As soon as it clicked, she vanished in a flash of light and appeared standing on the ceiling above Crash.
"She's sleeping now."
"Thank you for helping her." Redheart looked up and blinked in confusion before she tilted her head back further, finally finding Little Star. With a small shake of her head, she smiled gratefully, all hints of her inner conflict hidden away.
Little Star shuffled, a little abashed. Which just looked twice as odd upside down. "Mummy Twilight told me to look after our ponies."
“You're definitely doing that. Your mother will be proud of you.”
Little Star pranced on the ceiling taunting gravity with its inability to claim her.
Yep definitely still a little filly. Crash thought with amusement.
With eager energy, she jumped down, rotated in the air and bounded down the corridor to the less serious patients.
He abandoned his perch in pursuit. Moments later the chair crashed to the ground. “Oops.” He glanced back, ready to fix his oversight, but he was beaten to it.
Redheart waved for him to keep going as she sighed and righted the fortunately still intact chair, so he continued his mission.
All he had to do was tick things off on the scroll and wait outside the rooms. Not the least interesting guard duty I ever done. He thought as he methodically went through another set of wing-ups.
The first half dozen she checked in went perfectly. They were grateful and the words of thanks were just icing on the cake that was a worthwhile job well done. Each left the little princess in higher spirits than the last.
After the seventh, he knew something was wrong as soon as she walked out of the room. He stopped his exercise and gave her his full attention.
The vibrant energy was gone, each hoof found its place clumsily. she made it only a dozen steps before her eyes shimmered with dampness.
A voice spoke inside the room. That quiet voice practically screamed to his thestral hearing. "Why do they even let that menace play nurse?"
Why you ungrateful scum. You're not even fit to breathe the same air as she does. You could've at least waited until she was out of earshot. A normal pony might have heard it, let alone Little Star and himself with their superior hearing
He almost snarled or hissed. He almost bashed the door down and gave them a piece of his mind. But an almost inaudible sob, little more than a breath, drew his gaze back to Little Star.
Her lip trembled and that did it. Despite all her power, and all her dedication to duty, she was still just a little filly.
Normally that would be when her wooden owl would give her a hug. But today, the constructed familiar was nowhere to be seen.
There were only two courses of action any big brother could do in cases like this. As smashing the door down seemed to be the wrong option that only left the other one. Crash draped his wing over her and pulled her close. In less than a heartbeat her tears dampened his chest fur.
"Don't let that bucker bother you."
She jerked and looked up an intensity blazed in her still-damp eyes. "Don't use bad words."
A small part of him wanted to laugh, but it was going nowhere near that deadly gaze from the daughter of a neurotic alicorn.
I guess glaring talents run in the bloodline. He thought, almost gulping. "Sorry."
"That's alright," she murmured as she returned her head to her chest.
He held her, his wing sheltering her from a world that she would never truly fit into. No wonder the princesses hide their true power.
Like Luna, and even the Nightguards themselves, Little Star was being mistreated. Shunned by the very ponies she was helping. In some cases maybe even by those she had literally saved the lives of. Also like the Nightguards, there was only one solution, only one thing that would soothe her soul.
"Shall we go and find the rest of the Crusaders?"
Little Star gave another small sob and nodded against his chest. She looked up and rested her hoof on the smooth crystal of the wall. In the next instant, the scene changed. It was not a teleport nor the shift that happened when the Sovereign altered a dream. It was utterly instant, with no transition or sensation. It was just another sign she was no mere unicorn.
It was clear they were still in the castle, but where? This place needs signposts. The unified look of the crystal made every corridor look the same.
Little star smiled and affectionately patted the wall before she knocked at the door.
The door opened a crack and a sleepy Sweetie Belle peered out. It took a few long seconds before Sweetie Belle noticed anything was wrong.
As expected there was no question, no complaints, simply an embrace. A physical pledge to always be there for each other.
He only had seconds to watch the overly cute scene before a magenta aura decided to make him a part of it.
That one hug led to more as each of the others were collected.
Crash tuned out the flashes and explosions Little Star’s magic lessons were causing again.
He narrowed his focus to his opponent. She still clearly wanted to assault the ungrateful patients that had made Star so sad. He could not blame her, but she was far too rash and physical to simply put it aside like Applebloom and Sweetie Belle could.
He circled Scootaloo, watching, waiting. Anger still flowed through her every movement. She shifted her lavender primaries restlessly as she tried not to glare at him.
He held his wings half open. Ready for anything. She was fast, far faster than just her pegasus blood would indicate. She had proven that more than once in games of tag.
A blur of movement and his training kicked in. His hoof caught hers in plenty of time but the sheer impact pushed him back. The contact was like a small thunderclap and that alone made him wince. If I didn't have earth pony magic…
A flick of her wings pushed her forward and she pivoted, her other hoof coming around for another strike.
With a practised twist as he pulled back, Scootaloo tumbled past him. Her shocked expression shifted to a competitive gleam as he launched her away.
I know that look a single thought was all he had time for before the air hit him like a sledgehammer wrapped in a plump pillow.
He staged forward and she just hung motionless in the air. The smug grin she formed was a vast improvement to the angry glare.
How? Oh, that’s what you did. She had dumped all her momentum thrown right at him. “Good but not…” Was all he got to say before she made her counterpoint. A rather physical one.
The grin shifted to a copy of Rainbow Dash’s smirk as with only a flick of her perfect, for a pegasus anyways, wings, she surged back towards him.
With another flap, a contortion and a spin, one of her rear hooves rushed straight for his head.
He pushed some of the coldness from his core down into her shadow. A simple step and her blow simply helped push him into the inky embrace of the shadows.
She pulled her limbs back and shot into the safety of the air. Her head turned this way and that as her keen eyes darted from shadow to shadow.
Despite the intensity of her hunter’s glare, her happy smile was infectious.
I knew this is what you needed. He thought as he took a moment to plan his next move. Despite all his years of training, this was anything but a walk in the park. This filly could already give the Solar Guard a run for their bits. He could not wait to see what they could do when they came of age.
His thestral body was a little stronger than her pegasus one, but that was almost lost under the might that earth pony magic lent them both. She had the speed and he had the shadows.
"Foods up," Applebloom yelled, and just like that the match was over.
He dragged himself out of the shadows, shaking himself like a dog to settle his coat back down.
Scootaloo bumped against his side in good-natured comradery. "I would have won, you know."
"Yeah, yeah, keep telling yourself that."
She levelled an angry glare at him that was quickly ruined by her eager pose and the tongue she then stuck out.
"We're both awesome," he said as he offered a hoof to bump.
The clack as she accepted banished the last tension of the competition. At least for a few seconds.
"Last one to the dining room's a rotten egg." And just like that, she was off.
There was nothing for it. Despite his tired limbs, he demanded more and the race was on.
Magic tearing dirt and sweat from his coat was never going on his top ten enjoyable things list, but it was certainly fast and effective.
"And this is why you watch where you're going," Starlight lectured.
“How were we to…” Crash started, but Starlight was another pony that was good with glares so he shut up.
"Yes, Miss Starlight," Scootaloo said forlornly. Her ruffled wings shifted with discomfort.
Starlight’s magic was unpleasant with his wings, it must have been far worse with Scootaloo's feathers.
The mare turned her eyes to Crash. “Why were you galloping through the corridors with the castle being so crowded?”
"Hey, I was not going to be the rotten egg."
Off to the side, Applebloom’s snigger completely destroyed any sense of seriousness Starlight might have been going for.
“Just… be more careful. We have a lot of ponies that still are not used to the normal Ponyville antics, let alone you lot? Please?”
Crash stood straight and nodded. “Yes, Miss Starlight.”
“Good, now I have a lot to do, so at least try to stay out of trouble until tomorrow.”
He nodded, and with that, she trotted out of the room, her next task was clearly now the only thing on her mind.
"Hey… can you help me with my wings?" Scootaloo's voice asked quietly.
Does she even know what she is asking? He thought.
Her body fidgeted with the torment of miss-aligned feathers. Her eyes met his and then looked away shyly before she looked back and held his gaze. There was a little pleading in her eyes. But mostly just trust and friendship.
"Sure,” he said, after all, what other answer could he give a friend in need.
Little Star, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom chatted in the next room, their voices carried through the closed door along with the resonant chime of Little Star's magic as she worked on whatever her next creation was going to be.
Truth be told, he could not wait to see whatever it was. Everything the filly had crafted had been unique, powerful and so far away from the normal things that were done as to not even be able to see the standard way of doing things.
The bathroom was still a waterlogged mess after the group's bath became more of a water fight. Little Star animating the water as a sea serpent to chase after them was as impressive as it was definitely cheating.
Scootaloo extended her other wing. Like with the first one, Crash carefully went feather by feather. He knew what he was doing, but he was less familiar with what most ponies would consider as normal wings. Scootaloo relaxed under his ministrations. Letting another care for your wings was one of the clearest ways to say you trust somepony.
“Crash.”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks.”
“What are friends for?”
“Not for this…” She shifted her wing. “For earlier.”
“Still the same answer.” He paused and recalled some advice he wished he had at her age. “We’re not all awesome all the time, that's why we have friends to have our backs.”
Scootloo settled back and offered her wing to him in a clear ‘get on with it’ motion.
After a few minutes of that, she broke the silence. “So how are we gonna have Star’s back?”
That is the question, isn't it?
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Cutie Mark Crusader Social Grievance Avengers, yay
Really Nice chapter!
Cutie Mark Crusaders Involuntary Gratefulness Adjustment Bureau, YEAH!
Crash having fun while also doing important work. A fun chapter!
The story has attained it's onesiversary in upvotes.
Narc on them to Star Light and a few other eager Ears.
Simple as that. No need to even get their own hooves
dirty that time.
There are enough very powerfull beings around who
are very protective of them and especially Little Star.
Imagine the sort of Nightmares these ponies would
get once Luna gets wind of how HER DAUGHTER is
being treated FOR TRYING TO HELP INJURED PONIES.
I wonder how the others close to twilight, like her friends, think of crash. They have started to learn that alicorns have a different view of things.
They know that Luna gave a pony to twilight, and even the princess of love sees nothing wrong with it. While it was very will, they did show it was a odd thing.
Now Luna did the same thing for her own child.
Do they know he is super combat trained, do they think he is like a hoof sevent pick for her, or maybe that Luna picked the best looking colt (he is a blessed with earth pony, so would be more built for his little frame) for a posable future marriage, or herd?
There are nobles, so it could be a semi normal and known thing for nobles to setup their kids. They would think that Crash's parents wouldn't dare turn away a princess.
All their views what is going on must be way off the truth.
That was a good chapter.
Good question.
As good a question as this is, the answer is both quite long yet quite short. In either case, it also fairly simple: just be there for her. Just by simply being there, you are declaring without words that you have her back. By always being there, you are declaring without words that you will always have her back, now and forever. With time, you’ll be able to tell what Little Star, and the Crusaders as a whole by extension, needs or wants at certain times. Over time, the group dynamic will shift from being friends, to being tighter to each other than the individuals are with their own families.
Wonderfull... keep the updates flowing.
I love the CMC so much ;-;
Does Star have a CmC cape? I feel like she would at this point, but I don't remember any mention of her receiving one. Getting such a gift from her friends would probably be so exciting, she'd explode. Twice.
11795291
Yes she does have her own. She got it fairly early on.