My Little Fortress: Dawnpick

by Paaaad

125

It is early evening of the day of Glaive’s talk with Lady Virtue. Storm Cloud is taking the first night shift and Glaive is returning to his home. A smile on his face and eager to tell his wife the good news. It is later than usual when Glaive reaches the door. “Fal, I’m home” he says as he walks inside.

Having just put the foals to bed, Falcata has just been dozing off herself, sprawled out on a chair, when Glaive strides inside. Jerking awake, she smiles wanly at the unicorn, yawning and stretching as she does so. "Hi, Glaive," she mumbles, rubbing her eyes. "Where have you been, then?"

Glaive closes the door quietly as not to wake the foals and smiles to Falcata and dives straight into what he couldn’t wait to tell her, “I had a talk with Lady Virtue this afternoon. She has decided to form a private guard for herself. She chose me first.”

Falcata sits up straight at the news, surprised. "She did? You were? Did you accept? And who else is part of this guard?" she queries, launching a barrage of questions.

Glaive nods, “Yes, I accepted. She asked me for recommendations for the other position, and from those she picked Storm Cloud. He’s giving up being mayor in order to take the job."

She frowns, pride in her husband turning itself quickly into puzzlement. Either she's not following his meaning, or...
"...other position? But surely she will need a twenty-four hour guard? What's the point if- unless-"
Her frown becomes even more severe, but she gives him a chance to speak, unwilling to jump to any conclusions.

“Yes, other position.” Glaive frowns, “There are only the two of us in it for now. We’ll have to be working alternating 12-hour shifts, for awhile.”

"Twelve hours?!" she exclaims, keeping her voice low. "For a while? Glaive, I hate to burst your bubble, but you have two young foals now! Where are you going to find the time for this? Or have you ascended beyond the need for sleep now?" She doesn't need this, not now. First the rainbow ponies, now this.

“It...it won’t be a permanent situation. If she decides to keep the guard as a permanent feature, then I’ll convince her to allow me to expand it. For now there are only two members, but that won’t be the case forever. And for now even if I work for 12 and sleep for 8 then that still leaves 4 hours a day to spend with you and Balisong, and Falchion.”

"You forgot about eating, as well. And fine, leave all that to one side, and assume I were okay with it, for talk's sake. Why didn't you consult me about this beforehoof? Do I not have any say in this?" she presses on, wearily. Yesterday's events have left her feeling frazzled at best, and now Glaive has gone and done this. "I'd urge you to go back and tell Virtue you've had a change of heart, but if I know you, you've probably already signed an official contract or something, hmm?"

“I didn’t sign anything exactly...but as a matter of honor, I can’t back out now, even if I wanted to. I’m sorry, you’re right in that I should have talked to you first, as this decision affects you and the foals as much as me, but what is done, is done, and I am at her service until she no longer wishes me to be.”

Falcata sighs heavily, thinking. "Look...I know you say it's only for a while, but for my sake, will you at least raise the issue with Virtue and try to increase the guard number?" She finishes, but then appends something with a humourless smirk.
"By the way, I'll just ask her myself if you don't, dear. By the sounds of it she had other potential candidates, as well."

Glaive nods, “Okay, okay. From talking to her, she doesn’t seem totally comfortable with having a guard at all, that’s why I didn’t push for more members yet. But if you want, I can try and talk to her about it tomorrow.”

The pegasus raises a hoof to her chin, turning something over in her mind. She decides to ask the question, interested to see if her husband would be at all hypocritical.
"Glaive...what if I told you that I intended to volunteer for one of the additional positions?" she asks him, gazing at him and trying to gauge his reaction.

Glaive steps closer to Falcata and places his left forehoof on her side a vaguely pleading expression across his face. “Please...Please don’t. In the militia together, we always both had the night off, so we could always see each other after work. But in this position, somepony has to be there at all hours, and unless we have several more members, than that would mean us working different shifts. We...we’d almost never be together, one of us would always be either sleeping or at work. Please don’t volunteer.”

"Now imagine you'd asked me the same question before you went and signed half of every day away!" she snaps, though she doesn't pull away from him. "Do you see what I mean? It's not nice, is it, Glaive?"
Before he can answer, she forges on, posing her real suggestion to him.
"Would you - that is, if Virtue were okay with it - split your duties with me, even if just until additional guards get appointed? I don't want little Balisong or Falchion missing too much of their father, Glaive. Virtue might not want the guard roster expanded too soon, and this way the foals don't have to miss their father for more than a hooffull of hours each day."

Glaive looks down at the floor. “I, I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking about that. I just...I’ll talk to her about more guards tomorrow. You have my word. She, she would be more than fine with you helping out too. You were,” Glaive hesitates before continuing on. “you were her first pick for the second slot, she only didn’t offer it to you only because I asked her not to.” Glaive looks back up at his wife. “I’ll see that something is done as soon as possible. Virtue is a good mare, she will be understanding.”

"Yes, she is. Nopony could run this place better. If anyone can pull us out of this rainbow pony mess, she can. I just hope it's within the capabilities of one pony, or else- or else we are all in trouble." agrees Falcata, putting her forehoof over Glaive's. "Still, at least we will be in trouble together," she murmurs, giving him a tired smile.

Glaive smiles, “and there is nopony I’d rather face it with than you, Falcata.”
"Mmm," she hums, pensive. She looks to the two foals, lying curled up together in their cot, both fast asleep. "What do you think they'll grow up to be, Glaive?"

“Mmm, well, the military is in their blood. Mother, father, and grandfather all with military backgrounds. If one or both grow up to want to be a soldier, that’s just fine with me.” Glaive thinks about situation with the Rainbow ponies before adding. “I just hope that they get a choice in that matter.”

"The war would have to drag on for years for that..." murmurs Falcata, looking a bit perturbed by the thought of it. She's never seen the feral, barbaric badger ponies as anything more than particularly advanced and malicious animals, but fighting the rainbow ponies would be something else entirely. She's not sure she'll be able to handle it the first time, let alone for years of protracted warfare. "Do you- do you really think it could last that long?"

Glaive holds Falcata close to his side. “I really hope not. But, if a war does start, there is no telling how long it would last.”
"Assuming we are not wiped out within weeks," she says, a despondent tone to her voice. "There is an entire nation of them, and a scant five score and ten of us."

“That is assuming that the King doesn’t support us. We have a nation behind us too, dear. If King Golud supports us then by declaring war on Dawnpick, the Rainbows declare war on all of The Meandering Gloss. If that happens then, well the fighting will be more widespread, but we won’t have to face the whole Rainbow army alone.”

"But what if he doesn't, Glaive? What if Coupledye doesn't want war, what if they don't care about one little mining village, far from the shining spires and high walls of the capital? What if nopony comes to our aid?" Falcata says with trepidation, her gaze urgent. Her fears are spilling out now, but she's not sure even Glaive, of all ponies, can assuage them.

Glaive looks into the crib watching his foals sleep peacefully, unaware of the difficult future they might yet face. “Then we do the only thing we can Fal. We fight. We fight to protect our home, and our Lady Virtue, and...our family. I’ve said it before Fal, together we can do anything, even fight the whole damned Rainbow army if we must. Let them try and come, Dawnpick will not fall."

Falcata nuzzles him gently. His rousing words lift her spirits and calm her fears, and she is more grateful than ever for having married him. "I hope to the gods you're right, Glaive. I really do."