Adversity

by Ogopogo

Chapter VII - Progress

“Can’t believe she lied to me,” Noche grumbled for the umpteenth time that morning.

“Aww... Poor baby,” Frittata commented unsympathetically.

“Shut up. You weren’t the one who was supposed to write a test.”

“I also wasn’t the one who got drunk and hungover for the next day,” she countered. “She had a point, why waste time writing a test for you when she can just threaten and get the same results.”

“Besides, hun, gives you more time to yourself. And with me.” she added, flicking his leg with her tail. “Hey, Oak, you alright there?”

Lying on his back, Oak nodded from the ground, savouring the cool grass. This day had managed to be even hotter than the last, and the morning run hadn’t gotten any shorter. He was only a hair's breadth away from throwing up as it was, and his recently wrapped middle felt stifled and claustrophobic.

“Never... Better...” he gasped in between ragged breaths.

Rose glanced up at the sky. “One sec, be back in a moment,” she said, darting up towards a cloud.

Oak groaned, rolling over.

“You sure you’re okay there?” Frittata asked.

Coughing, Oak’s stomach heaved. Spitting out a bit of bile, he nodded weakly, breathing heavily from the run all the while. “I think... Just need to cool... Down...”

“Wish granted!” Rose called down, giving the cloud a kick.

A torrent of water rushed down from the cloud placed above Oak, Gasping in shock, he bolted upright, his coat plastered against his body. Wiping his mane from his eyes he looked up, meeting Mist Rose’s gaze. “That feels so much better.” He lay back down on the grass, giving himself time to catch his breath. “Thanks.”

“Oh don’t worry about it,” she chuckled, giving the cloud another kick, dissipating it. “‘sides, I think the wet mane look suits you,” Rose continued with a wink.

“Everypony up, come on now!” Lieutenant Sky called out, as the last stragglers made their way back. Despite running the entire way in a full set of armour, and finishing first, he was barely winded. In fact, it appeared as if he would be quite happy going for another jaunt. “The commander has something special planned for you, and as you have probably figured out, she doesn’t enjoy it if you are late.”

“My favourite thing with my favourite mare,” Noche groaned. “Surprises.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oak fondly remembered his fair share of surprises growing up. Of them, it was a birthday party which stood out the most. Had it been any more of a surprise when he came home, he could have sworn he would have had a heart attack. It hadn’t helped that Kaia had pounced on him either. However, what the commander had planned was a long way from a party.

“Well, shit,” Oak cursed under his breath.

Twenty-odd glistening gold chariots awaited them, Commander Cherry Blossom waiting patiently in front of them all, moving nary a muscle. Alongside her stood Corporal Brioso, although he shifted periodically.

“Pleasure for you to finally join us. Took you long enough to finish the run,” she commented.

“Commander, go easy on them. This is only their third day after all,” Sky countered.

“Why would I do that? Alright, listen up! Today, we’re going on a little trip! The Canterlot weather team was kind enough to leave us a blanket of clouds. Given the results of yesterday’s specialized sessions, we shall be practicing outside of the tower today. On our journey up there, any of you pegasi will also get some time in practicing pulling the chariots that we often use for royalty. Before any of you ask, we will be going over a simple cloud walking spell. Now, all pegasi match up with another and get yourselves hooked up; unicorns, two to a chariot. Sky, get up here with me.”

“What?” he exclaimed, having turned to leave “I thought Featherlight was supposed to be going with you.”

“She was, but the General reassigned her for the moment.”

Ruffling his wings, Sky sighed. “Alright then.”

“What are you all standing around here for!” Cherry Blossom shouted suddenly. “Get moving!”

“Well, shit,” Oak repeated, this time heard by his friends.

“What is it?” Mist Rose asked.

“Oh... Ah–” Oak stammered.

“Frittata why don’t you and Rose get a chariot. Let me worry about this,” Noche interrupted, pushing them along. “What’s the matter Oak?” Noche asked once Rose was out of earshot.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Oak deadpanned, giving the chariots a rather pointed look. “Just think about where we are going.”

Noche cast his eyes up to the blanket of clouds. “...Right.”

“Do you know that spell?”

“What spell?”

“Oh, I don’t know, perhaps the one that would let me breath underwater,” Oak declared, laying the sarcasm on thickly.

“Relax, I was just joking. Honestly, I have no idea about the spell they are talking about.”

“You don’t–”

“Nope!” he said, cutting Oak off. “You know as well as me how good I am at spells. Maybe once I see–”

“Noche and Oak Leaf!” Cherry Blossom shouted from the front of a chariot. “Move your asses.”

“Sorry, buddy not much I can do,” Noche apologized, heading towards a chariot. “I’ll see what I can do once they show us the spell.”

Mist Rose and Frittata had already buckled themselves into the harnesses, tightening them to fit snugly. With a nervous gulp, Oak followed Noche’s example, boarding the chariot carefully. Noir hopped from his back, perching on the engraved rail. Once more, Oak found himself in a situation he couldn’t control. In the best case, Noche manages to cast the spell, and everything goes swimmingly. Worst case, he can’t get it, then... Oak paused, finding a flaw in his logic. Actually, in the worst case scenario, he would be nothing more than the lining of a hole in the ground.

“Everypony will wait till the chariot to the left of them has taken off,” Cherry Blossom called out. “Once we are all in the air, you will form up and follow us. Understood?”

“Yes, Ma’am!” many voices rang out.

“Hol’ on a moment!” came a protest, traced with a familiar accent. Caldor came swooping from the tower doors, landing alongside Cherry Blossom.

“What is it?” she asked irritably.

“Overheard where you are taking them, and Ah wonder could Ah take Oak off your hooves? Don’t think a pegasus who can’t fly will be of much use ta ya’ up there.”

“Perhaps not, yet there would be some good of him seeing this.”

“Don’t be daft,” he objected. “Ya honestly think seeing it will help? You can’t learn to swing a sword by watching, nor can you learn to pull a chariot. Ah want him for something which would be far more beneficial for him.”

Cherry Blossom stared at Caldor for a moment, pursing her lips. “You’re not telling me everything.”

“Well, Ah’m doing repairs to a few old sets of armour and weapons. It’d make my work a lot easier if Oak was there to help. Ah suppose Ah’m being a touch selfish in that light.”

“Fine,” she said waving him off. “Take him with you.”

Letting out a breath he hadn’t been holding, Oak stepped down off the chariot, trying to steady his trembling legs. Annoyed that he was going to miss this chance of freedom, Noir let out a grumbling warble. It took all of three flaps to return to his usual position atop the earth’s pony back, digging his talons into the bandages. With Caldor already heading inside, all that Oak could manage was a small wave to his friends before heading after him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Though Princess Celestia, and to a lesser extent Princess Luna, may have been seen by many as the leaders of Equestria, it simply was not true. While they did hold immense power, parliament was where the heading of their country was ultimately decided. Though not an elected official, as almost every member of parliament was, a few seats had been saved for royalty, who were all permitted to sit in. In one of these chairs, Celestia sat, observing and listening to her ponies discuss and debate. Occasionally, she would offer her own input, and, as always, it would be well received. Bar a few subjects, their decisions would almost always be identical to her own.

The topic on the floor at the moment was the requested funding of a festival; a festival that had fallen on tough times the previous years. As it was currently, there might not be a festival if they couldn’t acquire the funds.

“I’m afraid I have to disagree,” a mare said, rising from her seat. “The past few years. the organization has barely managed to turn a profit, and is already behind in payments for a loan we gave to them four years ago. I think it would be a reckless decision to give them another, furthering their current debt. I doubt we would ever see our investment return.” She retook her seat as she finished speaking, waiting for the counterargument that was sure to come.

This time, it was a grey stallion who rose, whom Celestia recognized as a member of the Diamond family. “Seeing as we’ve been unable to come to a conclusion, may I suggest we request Princess Celestia’s input on the matter?” he called out. Voiced agreements sounded throughout the room at the suggestion. Turning to Celestia. he posed the question. “Princess, what would you recommend?”

The alicorn had long since made up her mind on this matter. “The summer festival in Manehattan, for countless years, has always been a major attraction,” Celestia began, remaining seated in her own padded chair. “In fact, if I remember correctly, it was established just a few years after Manehatten was recognized as a town. It would be easy to write it off as part of our history and grant their funding on that fact alone. Furthermore, many of the restaurants and business rely on the tourists the festival brings. The economic bounties it brings cannot be ignored.” She let her words fade into nothingness.

“However, what has been said by those against it is true as well. We cannot just grant funding when we already provide them a respectable amount each year, accounting for the economic impact it has. When they have been struggling for several years now, perhaps it might be time to take a step back and determine whether the festival is even feasible anymore. Perhaps it is no longer the best option. Perhaps it is time we moved on.

“That being said, we cannot discount events which they could not control which affected the success of these events. Of those four years where the festival turned a loss, abysmal weather was a factor in two of them, prompting many performers and visitors to cancel their trips. Circumstances left the weather team with no other options but to have storms those days. The other was a direct result of Discord’s influence. I’m sure you all remember that one in particular.” Celestia glanced around the room to see the understanding nods shared by all. “Which means only one year can actually be counted as a loss.”

“What would you suggest then?” a member asked, as the room sprang into hushed conversations.

“I believe we should grant them the funding, under the condition that we are allowed to monitor the situation closely with complete transparency. Arrange–” The doors to the room burst open, cutting Celestia off.

A guard trotted in, coming to a stop in the center of the room. Over his armour he bore a set of saddlebags. “I apologize for the interruption,” the guard said, respectfully bowing his head momentarily, “but an urgent message arrived, which I was instructed to bring to you.”

A stallion in the first row stepped forward. “May I?” he asked.

The Speaker of the House nodded, gesturing for him to take the scroll.

Unfurling it, the stallion cleared his throat. The initial portion of the message was nothing but formalities, and in the interest of time, he stopped, skipping forward to the body of the message. “Under the provisions of bill number 293, set out at the formation of the Crystal Empire, this document fulfils the requirements dictated by the bill...” The stallion’s eyes grew wide as he read ahead to the end of the sentence, and he fell silent in shock.

“Mr. Polish,” the speaker of the house interrupted, “Would you please finish reading it? We would all like to hear what it says.”

Polish nodded dumbly, still staring at the end of the sentence. His voice trembled as he started again. “This document fulfils the requirements dictated by the bill to set in motion the secession of the following towns and villages, and the surrounding land, from the country of Equestria.”

The room erupted into chaos as the subject of the message finally came into light. Celestia stayed silent amidst the noise, having known from the very beginning what the bill 293 had entailed; she had been the one who had written it after all. Eventually, the speaker of the house had to bang his gavel to restore order to the room. “Please continue, Mr. Polish. Would all members kindly hold any response till after the entirety of the message is read?”

The stallion continued as prompted, licking his lips nervously. “For each of them there is also the signature of the mayor or acting mayor. Whitehorse, Mayor Patches. Timberline, Acting Mayor Ginger. Hay Lake, Mayor Grint Fallow.” The list continued on for a good few minutes constituting many places in it’s entirety. The disbelief in the room grew with each passing place and accompanying name. “That’s all of them,” Polish finished, a shade paler now that he had finished. “As with anything of this sort, there are three witnesses as well. The document’s author, Maple Leaf, as well as Terrioso and Durum.”

Before anyone could speak, Celestia rose swiftly from her chair. “May I suggest that we break till tomorrow? It will give us time to think over this matter, and let us each read a copy of the message.”

The Speaker of the House nodded. “I think that would be for the best. Need I remind anypony that what is discussed here is not to be revealed to the public until a sound verdict is made? We do not need to have rumors spreading over this matter.”

Celestia had already left the room just as the first ponies were beginning to stand. She needed to speak with somepony immediately. Something was not right.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The hammer pounded down on the glowing piece of metal, sending a flurry of sparks twirling in the air. Hooves numbing from the repeated reverberations, Oak readjusted his grips of the tongs, holding the target steady. Three more times the hammer pounded down before Caldor was satisfied with his work.

“There we go,” the gryphon said, examining his work closely for a moment. Taking the tongs from Oak, he plunged the nearly finished blade into a barrel of water. The liquid hissed viciously as it met the soft glowing steel, before falling silent.

Taking a seat on the floor, Oak took a moment to look around, wiping the sweat from his brow. The forge was a small room, which, unlike the rest of the tower, did not share the elaborate designs and styles of the carved marble. The room was built from nothing more than shorn polished rock, good enough to please the eye, but inexpensive and durable enough to withstand the work a forge called for. Still, although the room had recently been cleaned, it didn’t look used. Dust clung to the edges and corners of the floors and workbenches, thick beyond just a few weeks of disuse.

“And tha’ just about does it,” Caldor declared, setting the unfinished sword in the bins with the others.

Oak couldn’t help but notice the edges of the blades were rather dull: a rounded face where the normally sharp edge would be. “Caldor, are these supposed to be like this?” he asked, running his hoof along the edges to no effect.

“They’re suppose’ to be like that, aye. Beats cutting each other into ribbons when we get to the point. Now come on, Ah ‘ave something else to show you.” Moving to the other end of the room, Caldor halted in front of something hidden by a tattered curtain. “Can’t believe they still had some of these,” he offered, gripping the corner. “Ah thought they go’ rid of all them, but Ah guess they just chucked them in storage.” Letting his hand fall, the cloth came loose, revealing what lay beneath.

At first glance, it was just a pony mannequin dressed in golden Royal Guard armour, bar a few differences. With a closer look however, the differences became much more apparent, almost redesigning the armour before Oak’s eyes. Rather than the curved and rounded ornate plates that Oak had seen the guards wearing, this barding was made of plates joined together, flourishing down into a prow at the center and decorated simply. The helmet was different in that it’s basic shape resembled the current ones, except for the extended protection around the muzzle area, and the patches of seamless scale armour conjoining the chest plate to the helmet. In fact, upon further examination, the scales existed between the joins of every piece of armour, protecting the gaps. The fact that the complex working of metal was designed to move fluidly was nearly unbelievable. Following his eyes down the mannequin, Oak noticed the rear shoes were different as well. Rather than stopping just above the hoof, they extended all the way up the back of the leg, leaving only the thigh revealed from the rear.

“Startin’ to get it?” Caldor asked.

“No...” Oak replied, drawing out his answer in thought. “I get that it’s armour, but what so special about it?”

“Notice any holes for a horn or wings?”

Frantically casting his eyes about the armour, Oak saw that indeed Caldor was correct. “This is for an earth pony?”

Nodding, Caldor tapped the chest plate with a talon, producing a metallic ring. “This was the latest design for earth ponies before t’ey were abolished from the guard. Unlike pegasi or unicorns, earth ponies had to rely on their strength and endurance in a fight. This armour is not only designed differently, but it’s made from a stronger metal. Plus, Ah’m pretty sure it’s in your size.”

Oak furrowed his brow. “What do you mean?”

“When you join tah guard, how about havin’ a proper set of armour to wear? Beats the bastard mix they would give ya instead.”

The facts ran through Oak’s mind rapidly. If this had been the last armour design for earth ponies... “Wait, this thing is over three hundred years old?”

“Three hundred and thirty two ‘cording to the maker’s mark,” Caldor corrected, adjusting the helmet to sit squarely. “They sure don’t make this stuff like they used to, as expensive as it must have been. Still, took a lot of work to fix up.” Mocking his words, a flap of scales came loose, flopping open and tugging the helmet off kilter. Caldor sighed, removing the helmet from the mannequin. “Make tha’ plenty more work to fix.”

“Three hundred and thirty two...” Oak deadpanned.

“What? When metal doesn’t rust, along with a few choice enhancements, things like this last a long time. Course, it helps I replaced a few parts of it. The rest of the sets weren’t in nearly as good condition.”

“Is that what Mist Rose was helping you with?”

“Mist Rose? Aye, she helped me, though not with this. That mare has a lot to learn ‘afore Ah’d let her handle this stuff.” Caldor turned back to the forge, gathering stray ash, and dumping it into a bin alongside the furnace.

There wasn’t much on Oak’s mind at the moment, save his friend’s earlier doubts. The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. There was no way someone like Caldor, a Talon he might be, could make such a blanket statement, when no one else had ever heard of such a thing. Thinking back to when he first heard of Eastern Haste, Caldor had seemed genuinely surprised at the revelation that there was an earth pony in the guard. Thing was, Oak didn’t know how to bring this topic up. He didn’t want to make it seem like he was ungrateful, but all things considered...

“Caldor,” the earth pony began finally, “where did you hear that there has been no earth ponies in the guard or three hundred years?”

Caldor looked back over at moment, examining Oak, before turning back to his work. “Ya know, you don’t ‘ave to dance around it. Ah don’t blame you for doubtin’ me. It’d be stupid not to.”

A few moments passed by, before Oak could find the words he was looking for. Shuffling nervously, he sighed, attempted to start and faltering before beginning again. “It’s just that, it’s kind of hard to believe that.”

“If you want to go tell them you’re an earth pony, Ah’ll take all the blame for it, and let them know Ah told you to do it. It is your choice after all. Ah could be wrong, but what Ah know Ah know.”

“But how do you know it?”

Silence existed once again, as Caldor stared into the embers left over from their work. He prodded at them as thought over his next words. “Ah can’t tell you.”

Of all the answers Oak had expected this had been the last. “What do you mean!” Oak exclaimed indignantly. “How–”

“Ah just can’t tell you, Oak,” he reaffirmed. “There’s nothing that Ah can do to change that. You have my word it’s the truth, but Ah can’t tell you why it’s the damn truth.”

“Nothing?”

He grimaced. “Nothing that would help ya.”

Unsure, Oak Leaf matched Caldor’s gaze, searching for the immaterial. His choice centered entirely on whether he chose to believe Caldor or not. It was nothing less than a leap of faith, a massive one at that. But, as he puzzled about it, Oak realized that his choice would not only affect himself. Doctor Remedy, by proxy, was tied into this mess. If Oak Leaf went public and mentioned that he was an earth pony, it’d be another strike against the doctor who had consciously hidden the fact. However, if he could prevent them from finding out till after the investigation, then Remedy would stand a chance.

“I’ll trust you, Caldor,” Oak decided.

“Good,” the gryphon responded simply, glancing at a clock. “Well it seems we ‘ave some time.” He snatched the short sticks from the edge of a table, throwing one underhanded to Oak, who caught it in his mouth.

“‘at’s dis fo’?” he said around it.

“We have a little more time ‘afore they come back,” Caldor explained, giving his wings an idle flap. “Ah want you to knock their bloomin’ socks off when the time comes, but that means practice till then.”

Sparing a glance around them, Oak shifted uncomfortably. The room was hardly the ideal space for sparring. Even the largest open area was little more than twice Caldor’s outstretched wingspan. He spat out the stick into a hoof. “Shouldn’t we go elsewhere?” he asked.

“Do you get a choice in where ya fight?” The gryphon asked.

“It just doesn’t seem very safe here.”

“And what part of whacking each other with sticks seems safe?”

Oak sighed, widening his stance and sinking slightly. He already knew how this was going to end.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The mess hall was utterly silent save the rhythmic breathing of a single pony. The food had yet to be set on the table up front, so all the green earth pony had to occupy himself with was holding the icepack to the growing lump on his head. The sparring lesson had ended when Oak stumbled and fell, knocking his head against the edge of the counter. In hindsight, Caldor admitted that it might have been better to move elsewhere when Oak was so inexperienced. The admission had done little to help the pounding headache, or the throbbing bruises and scrapes across his body however. So he had limped to the mess hall, and collapsed onto a chair, resting his strained body before lunch arrived.

Eventually, the doors opened, and the rest of the recruits streamed in, some sparing Oak curious glances. Noche eventually thumped down alongside him, patting him on the back. Frittata and Mist Rose took their seats more calmly, each sympathetic to Oak’s plight.

Somehow, however, Noche didn’t seem to place much thought on Oak’s condition. “So, Oak, we were thinking of going out tonight for supper, instead of havin’ the same old crap they always serve us. Sound good?”

“Really, Noche?” Frittata reprimanded. “First thing you do is ask him about food?”

“Well, it’s not like we don’t know what happened to him,” he countered. “Hey, Oak, Caldor kick your flank?”

The earth pony grumbled into the table.

Noche Buena turned back to the others with a fiendish smile. “See, what did I tell you? Anyway, want to head out later today and get something good instead?”

“I don’t really have any bits at the moment, Noche.” Oak said.

“Oh, relax, I’ll let you pay me back later.”

“So what did you have in mind?”

Noche grinned widely. “I was thinking about checking out that bar you were talking about yesterday: the Cracked Mug.”

“Oh, please,” Frittata scoffed. “We all know the real reason you want to go there.”

“Can’t a stallion get a pretty face and some good food?” he asked.

“Why?” Mist Rose asked, fluttering her eyelashes, her mouth curled downwards in a pout. “Am I not good enough?”

Frittata and Oak Leaf both broke into laughter at Noche’s expression. Stammering, he tried to come up with something fitting to say, only to have the chance taken away from him as Commander Blossom strolled in. Lieutenant Sky alongside her, called for silence.

“If the castle staff is on time, lunch will only be a few minutes longer. In the guard, it’s customary to be partnered up for your patrols and shifts. To that end, you are all going to be assigned a partner for the remainder of training. Our choices are non-negotiable. If you don’t like them, get over it. Once the lieutenant informs you of your partner, you are to find them, and remain with them. What you do on your own time is up to you, but during training, you will be with them at all times. Lieutenant,” she prompted.

Sky nodded, grabbing a scroll from under his wing.

“Oh boy, here we go,” Noche commented under his breath.

“Blaze Bristle, Thistle Pastery. Frittata, Rose Mist. Solitaire, Emerald Spring.” The listed continued on for a few more names, matching ponies up with others. “Oak Leaf, Alexandrite Lavaliere.”

Oak’s hopes plummeted at the announcement. He was truly stuck with him? In the few moment’s of Oak’s disbelief, he missed Noche’s name being called.

“Who’s that?” the unicorn muttered, his brow furrowed in thought.

“You may choose to find them now, or after lunch, but you must stay with them,” Cherry Blossom continued. “I hope you will enjoy what we have planned. I know I had fun,” she joked slyly. “I’ll see you all in a few minutes.”

As she turned to leave, Oak Leaf spotted Alexandrite rising from his seat, heading straight for the commander. No doubt he was going to complain about their selection, and being put with a cripple. It would fit his character even for him to describe Oak as that. They started their conversation just out of earshot, and it took Oak a few more seconds to wind through the tables to hear them.

“...don’t think it’s a good idea I am paired with him,” Alexandrite was saying. “I’m concerned that there could have been a better choice made.”

“Do you not like him or something?” Cherry Blossom replied, not budging an inch.

“While he and I don’t get along, that is not my reason. I worry about his injuries–”

“I’m going to stop you right there,” she interrupted. “Quite frankly, deal with it; it’s not our problem. Besides, I’m sure Oak would tell you that his injuries are barely even affecting him, isn’t that right?” she asked the earth pony.

Looking behind and seeing him standing there, Alexandrite gave Oak a dark scowl.

“I’m fine, ma’am,” Oak insisted. “Bar the obvious, it’s barely even affecting me.”

“See, there you go,” Cherry Blossom offered over her shoulder as she walked away. The tone of her voice offered no room for further argument.

“Thank you for that,” Alexandrite growled, heading back to his seat. “Please, feel free to impose on my conversations whenever you feel like it,” he added sarcastically.

Sighing, Oak started back to his friends. He could already tell this was going to end well.

Comments

[Ogopogo]

Yeah, there was really no reason for this update to take this long. Don't know what happened really...

Sorry to everyone who was waiting for the update