The Few

by Carmack21

Chapter 3

The Few
Part 3
By: Carmack21
Edited by: Mabbz

"Ye-ow!" Knight sat erect in bed. It had been two weeks since he joined the Night Guard, but it seemed like eternity had passed since a glimmer of sun light last fell upon him. His body had changed some, gaining a few extra muscles here and there, but for the most part he was pretty much beaten up. Both eyes were black and blue, his torso and legs had cuts and bruises, and his mane was tattered. To top it off he hadn't even taken a bath since the night he enlisted.
"Come on you big baby, just let me finish stitching you up. Then you can have some R&R" Speckles spoke with a can-do attitude. She was actually enjoying this, since it wasn’t happening to her.
"Ye-ow! You know Specs just ‘cause you say it’s to toughen me up doesn't ma- Ye-ow! That doesn't make it any less painful" Knight recoiled with a hint of aggression.
"Oh does big baby need a binkie? No? Then zip it so I can finish field dressing the wound" Speckles worked slowly and carefully to seal a wound given to him by Princess Luna and a sword. "There, good as new" she eyed Knight. "Sort of, anyway" she chuckled.
"Yeah, yeah have your laugh, but when it comes time you might be where I am and I might be holding the needle" Knight made to get up but Speckles pushed him right back down.
"You need your rest" she stated.
"So my R&R is just sleeping?" Knight said with a grimace.
"Yup" was all Speckles could offer. She collected her supplies and made to leave. "By the way, I felt the same way when I joined, so I took leave when no one was looking" she said, winking an eye at him.
A smile crept its way across his face, "So where are you going tonight?" Knight asked.
"I’m meeting a friend at the Loose Hoof" she replied. "Around six-ish. And he is buying the first round" She added in a whisper.
"Yup, just don't throw me out this time" Knight whispered back. With that, Speckles said her goodbyes and left. Knight sat alone, the barracks never felt full; of course the occasional mare or stallion stepped in to bring this or that or do some minor task, but it always seemed empty. "Mhmm, guess I'll take nap then" Knight yawned to himself. He slid under his pale blue blankets and closed his eyes. Sleep had never felt so inviting; within minutes he had passed out.
---
The dream started off weirdly. Knight fell from the sky, hurtling towards a forest at the edge of a field at terminal velocity. He quickly tried to spread his wings but they wouldn't obey him, he went to scream out but his throat felt tight. He closed his eyes 'This is going to hurt' he thought. But the pain never came. He open his eyes a crack, before opening them properly in confusion. He had stopped, somehow.
"Fire!" a voice on the ground attracted Knights attention.
'Fire? I don't see any fi-' before he could finish his thought a volley of flaming arrows flew over head towards the forest. Landing in trees, sticking in the dirt, and bouncing off rocks. Knight quickly found out that he was in the midst of a war, a great war by the sound of exploding in the sky above him.
"Fire! Fire! Fire!" the voice hollered again, and the arrows once again flew. "For the Princess!" the voice yelled, followed by screams and battle cries then the sounds of hundreds and hundreds of hooves were heard.
Looking in the distance Knight saw a clearing; suddenly stallions and colts dressed in white and gold full-body uniforms and carrying spears and swords flooded it.
"We are less, but for our Princess we shall die on the battlefield! For Princess Luna!" Knight’s ears perked up as the sound of someone with a gruffer voice started yelling, followed by the sound of hundreds of ponies stomping their hooves.
On the opposite side of the clearing, fewer than a hundred stallions trotted forth burdened by dark purplish-blue and grey armor. They screamed with adrenaline as each and every pony let out their battle cry.
The advancing golden uniformed army definitely had the advantage, but the darker grey army stood fast. "Fire the arrows!" a golden uniformed officer hollered. He stood tall and stern, but Knight could hear fear in his voice. Soon after volley after volley of arrows rained down upon the dark army.
"Hold formation! Shields up!" the dark commander yelled, no emotion but grim determination in his voice. His stallions worked in sequence, all shields were raised at the exact same time and no one broke rank. Clink-clang-clunk-snap, arrows bounced off the metallic shields, landing uselessly on the ground.
"Fire!" the commander yelled again, and again the arrows flew and bounced off the shields. By this time the forces cold see eye to eye, the battle was about to begin.
"Colts, we were chosen by Princess Luna for this reason, to wreak havoc upon the enemy! Regardless if it be our own brothers, we will still fight! We pledged our loyalty! We are the Few!" The darker commander preached to his men. "For Luna!" he yelled and charged head first into battle.
"For Luna and Commander Nesser!" the voices yelled and followed him into battle.
A dragging sensation pulled on Knights body; he was being pulled from his dream.
---
"What?!" Knight sat erect in bed. His dream made no sense to him. Nesser wasn't a lunar guard, he was a solar guard.
Mulling it over in his mind, Knight turned to get out of his bunk. 'I should really tell Speckles about it' was his final conclusion. "Well I guess it's time to go and meet Specs". Knight got out of his bunk went to find his companion.
---
For the first time he walked through the palace with his guard armor on. Princess Luna and Specs kept at him with harsh training and tough love. Every now and again he would pass by a civilian who gasped at him with a slightly fearing look.
He looked towards the sky, comparing his gear to hers. The magic in his gear was weak, all it did was change his voice and give him a different mane and coat color, and bat-like wings. Apparently he was in the training armor; it didn't give him the same attributes that Specs had. Specs’ armor gave her razor sharp jagged teeth, an ash grey coat and mane and made her wings bat-like, as well as adding a few less noticeable perks like strength, speed, and other attributes. But there was one thing odd about her, her eyes although switching color never seemed to change, they were always comparable to a dragon's. They seemed to always tear at you too, picking and poking, trying to find your weakest parts. She was alright once you got to know her.
Looking down he say his destination, the 'Loose Hoof'. Last time he was here was the day he joined the Lunar Guard, and his co-worker threw him out. But standing at the doors was a white mare with a few specks of black around her face, with a black and white mane – in a sexy red dress?! Knight stopped immediately in his tracks, jaw dropping to the ground.
"Sp-Spe-Speckles?" Knight stuttered. He was completely blindsided by the mere appearance of her.
"Well aren't we fit for duty? I guess you didn't get the sneaking out part, you know, where you try to stay under the radar?" she laughed a little, but it subsided quickly.
"I thought we were going to act professional, and maybe this time my guard status would buy me a drink" he added which made Speckles giggle.
"Of course it won't, no one knows we even exist as an actual guard unit" Specs smirked, crushing Knight’s dream.
"No one knows we exist as a guard unit? But everyone was staring as I walked by. They have to know" he looked over at Specs then in the closest window reflection. "Unless I look like a pony dressed up for Nightmare Night. I feel stupid." Knight looked down at the ground; it was a good five to six months until the next Nightmare Night.
"Hey bud, let's forget the tavern and head back to the castle. At least there you won't be judged on your armor." Specs laughed and led Knight back to the castle like a mare leading her child home from Sugarcube Corner with nothing to show for the visit.
---
Taking off his armor, and losing the little magic it had, his grey coat revealed itself and his crescent moon and sword mark came forth. "So no one knows we exist... How come?" he asked Specs who sat on his bunk while he stowed his gear properly.
"Well it's a long story, but I guess your gonna hear it eventually." She let Knight sit down on his bunk beside her before she started. "It started a thousand years ago; Princess Luna felt shunned and dishonored because all but a few ponies slept through her lovely night, but played and worked during the day. Princess Luna found the Few who loved and studied her night, and allowed them to work with her. As time went on the Few were given magical armor," she pointed towards the racks and racks of purplish blue and grey armor. "But no army is leaderless, and Princess Luna just knew who should lead them. Captain Nesser, who was Princess Celestia's own Captain, looked towards the Night Princess as a true war leader. He never mentioned this to Princess Celestia until one fateful day when she gave him a dishonorable discharge for lack of restraint." She looked at Knight who was taking in the history.
"So Captain Nesser was fired? But what about all the statues and paintings of him leading his troops into wars?" Knight blurted out.
"Well, I guess I should save the rest for another time" she decided with a smirk. "Now let's go eat." She laughed when Knight started whining about her not finishing the story and how leaving ponies on cliff hangers stinks.
"Fine... But you’re buying the first round." Knight got up from his bunk, and helped Specs up. "Lets go" he smiled as they left the barracks.