Amusing One Self |Red Charge|

[darkness]

Sunlight filtered in through the dusty panes of one's window. What was his name? Oh she had forgotten. A sweet little, unsuspecting guard from the post, just released from his shift last night. She had been there in the shadows, watching with eager and hungry pink chasms. The process had been easy last night. He was frustrated from a quarrel of another fellow co-worker and was stamping from his replacement with fumes leaking heavily from his nostrils. Little Candy Lips had witnessed the spectacle for no longer than a few moments before she had revealed herself to him. Sweet, innocently sly and more than willing to alleviate his stress. What else would an angered pony of no marital or relationship status do? Candy Lips was far from resistible with her natural good looks and sugar coated lies. Undoubtedly and expectantly, the victim stag had taken her to his home.

The night had been full of playful giggles, sweet words and Cider, but when it came down to it, they were only deceiving themselves... or he was deceiving himself. It was easy to get a stallion to say 'I love you' and have him offer his heart upon his sleeve, but it was never truly honest or as sentimental as it should've been. Candy stirred from her place at the red stallion's side. She had watched like a clever cat where he had stowed his personal items last night and now in the brink of early morning, she waltzed silently to her mark. There, nestled beneath his royal armor, attire, wrapped in the loving embrace of a brown, leather sack, was the gold. This was her prize. This was the only reason she had stayed with him last night, if she wasn't afflicted by anyone's charm and handsomeness, but that was the case for her now. She casted a flashing glance to the slumbering fool, before she pinched the leather between her ivory enamels. The coin jingled musically, but it did not wake the poor, hung over, sap. With a pleased smirk curling the plush corners of her maw, she slunk from his room and down the stairs. She made sure to place her hooves especially loud against the oak stairs so they clacked, and assaulted his Cider induced, sensitive, ears. She heard him grumble and shift before he shouted. " KEEP IT DOWN!" but the ill effects of his own loud voice made him grumble more. Candy giggled in her soprano voice, like chimes. " Yes dear..." and with that, the enchantress opened the front door, sauntered happily out, and slammed it shut. " What a beautiful day!" Her farce, bubbly, attitude was spewed sickeningly from around her trophy. Candy Lips could easily look at someone, with the smallest ounce of honesty, that was only allowed to survive within her, to say She loved her job.

Candy continued her way, leaving the house of already forgotten meaning in the dust. She made a quick stop at her own, small place to drop her belongings off and then hit the streets festive with carts and marketing purpose. Pink, vibrant, spheres rolled skyward at the site of the happy faces greeting her, or the flower garland festooning above the market area with small, delicate, paper lanterns clinging to their threads. Such a pretty, and happy society. It took effort for the low moral, mare not to gag. Instead she focused on the male faces, picking apples or sweets from carts and offering cute winks to the selling mares. She allowed a musical chortle to whisk into the air toward their folly. The melodious sound turned a couple of heads, if her pretty, Argentine pelt and red lipped cutie mark hadn't already caught their attention. Alas, Candy was picky in her pickings. She ignored generous winks and low whistles from the majority. Instead, a flash of light rebounding off significant armor caught her eye, and upon turning her head she noticed a particular and well endowed in title, pony. Yes everyone knew who he was. The girls sighed and swooned under just a glance, but Candy merely flipped her mane and watched him with a fake, uninterested stare. She pulled herself apart from the rest, but she kept her pink stare fixated on him, waiting to snare his eye.

[Red Charge]

Field Marshal Starling was all too used to the crowd of mares that seemed to perpetually surround any business he had in the public in Canterlot. He could avoid them at first, when the news of his return weren't so widespread, but now with an active part in the war, it was unavoidable. Masses of excited, trembling females for the picking, all hoping he could win the war all by his lonesome. Whether or not he actually could was irrelevant, as the Princess seemed to have a very good idea of what she wanted to do with this war. The woodland camo coated stallion could hardly argue with her tactics. She was trying to draw out the mastermind behind the invasion.

Trying to figure a way through the drooling mob of fillies, Starling had to shove aside one particular pink eyed pony who was staring at him unabashedly. He paid her little attention as he moved, all of his so called "number one fan-fillies" on his trail. Squeezing his way into an alley, he noticed he seemed to lose the large crowd, all arguing to whom would follow. Sighing of relief he continued moving towards the palace, where his private chamber in the barracks awaited for some peaceful relaxation from this war. Admittedly getting tired again was a bit surprising at first, the heavy eyelids, the bags beneath the eyes, the white noise in his mind as he tried to reflect upon what was unfolding... it was almost a new concept for him.

He stopped to contemplate this for a moment as he pretended to survey a shop's display window, carelessly glancing over the items as he began himself to wonder if coming back was more useful, or less. He caught the reflection of that pink eyed pony again, the only one with half a brain in the bunch, apparently. Caught alone, he wondered if she'd make the move.

[darkness]

" Must be exhausting, being The One for so many aspiring fillies..." Mitigated syllables pressed from her larynx, lush, and beguiling. The pale colored mare floated forward to stand beside the particular czar of interest. She wasn't uncomfortably invading his bubble just yet, but she was close enough to inhale his natural cologne which appealed greatly to her. A faint trace of a coy smile touched her velvets, but her roseate peer was diverted to the vaguely interesting items he seemed to brush over with out real focus. Lustrous bangs fell down her soft, curvaceous, nape, and brushed across her velvet cheek bone. The light washing over the sleek ranks of hair in full, desirous health. " No doubt there is some pitiful, underground, fan club on the verge of conspiracy, to whisk you away and bend you to the obligation of loving every single one of them..." Humorous mockery, slipped into the oxygen. Her casual and masked gaze flickered up to his worn face. Another dainty, titter, exposed itself. She looked at herself in the reflection of the glass before pulling away disinterested. She half-circled to his other side, but did not stall. " Fools... Someone, of such high title as yourself, has such a large selection of ladies. A war hero, refined as yourself? Regarded, no doubt, highly by Princess Celestia. How can they be selfish enough to believe you have to pick just one of them to be happy?... Again I pity their ignorance." She halted a few feet away, back turned in his general direction. " Seeing those bags under your eyes, I wonder why you even return to this mess at all, aside from the beck and call of your precious royalty." Visionaries assailed the castle image, curious, but unimpressed. Skull oscillated to and fro disapprovingly. Again, this would be a moment to admit that she loved her easy, carefree life.

" I couldn't imagine what it must be like to sleep with a mare and have to worry about her turning awry with the thoughts of commitment and foals." Again her eyes circled skyward and back onto Starling with a bored countenance. Needless to say, she had no plans for marital terms, and she certainly had no plans for kids. She hated the little mongrels with a passion. Their relentless crying, mess making, and attention begging was too much of a nuisance for her to abide to. Just the mere thought of chicklets of her own induced a deep set shiver of distaste. " So tell me... What do you gain in this position besides the obvious?" She inquired softly, tilting her head in that little, cute, quirky way she knew she could.

[Red Charge]

Starling turned to the mare stalking him as she spoke, listening with half interest, "What do I gain? That's the exact opposite of what this position is. You don't get to be Field Marshal for what you stand to gain. You get to be Field Marshal for what you're willing to lose." He said evenly. "And to be fair I probably already had most of those mares out there. I did recognize a few." He shrugged. "I don't really worry about foals. I'm a soldier, I have my duties and they require me to be unattached. Probably one or two are already out there, hearing stories of their father fighting for Equestria." He talked slowly, in a very drawl voice. His long career as a both a warrior and a leader allowed him to take in her details with one quick glance, he grinned.

"And I don't suppose you're here just to shake your head at a bunch of starstruck fillies, are you, pink eyes? Why have you been gaping and following me around?" His tone was unassuming, his remark could hardly be registered as implying anything. Starling may have been a fillies' colt, but he was definitely not arrogant about it. "So how can this soldier serve you today?"

[darkness]

"What do I gain? That's the exact opposite of what this position is. You don't get to be Field Marshal for what you stand to gain. You get to be Field Marshal for what you're willing to lose." Pupils tapered with disgust but she tossed her cerebrum to conceal her dislike in his nobility. A sigh escaped her, if she was to get what she wanted, she had to play the game. Thus being considered, a cute grin touched her snout. " How sweet..." she cooed, failing to hide the full extent of her sarcasm. Ivories clicked at the end of her statement. She circuited to face him now, tossing her thick tresses in the progress. A brow rose as he continued to speak. "And to be fair I probably already had most of those mares out there. I did recognize a few." She laughed whimsically at the thought. " Ah. Then no wonder they desire you again... You were probably their first." A shameless, distant look of nostalgia undertook her and she smirked into the distance, remembering the explicit details of her times spent with a long ago stallion. "I don't really worry about foals. I'm a soldier, I have my duties and they require me to be unattached. Probably one or two are already out there, hearing stories of their father fighting for Equestria." She snorted in contempt. " Oh yes! Probably little tykes that look just like you. Strutting around, hoping on silver tipped wings, that they can be just like their detached, heroic, father that doesn't even know their name and probably forgot his mother's name." She cackled at her own jives.

"And I don't suppose you're here just to shake your head at a bunch of starstruck fillies, are you, pink eyes? Why have you been gaping and following me around?" Caught, mid- self amusement, Candy looked at him with predatory eyes. She offered a brief laugh, cut as quickly as it was emitted. " Not in the least... and Gaping? Me? Never. You're not that magnificent to me. Sorry to burst your humble, little, bubble. Accuse me of stalking? No, no, a respectful guard wouldn't dream to offend a lady with impractical assuming now would he? Perhaps maybe you're just going where I happen to be?..." Tones adopted a playful scheme as she allowed herself to look him up and down. She noticed a grin take to his mouth and she only wondered what it could be for. "So how can this soldier serve you today?" She giggled and bit her lip, looking up in faux pondering. " Hmm. That's right... How can you serve me? Well, I was hoping you would know." Oh she was such a tease.

[Red Charge]

The armored stallion stared at the brightly coated mare silently for a few moments, "I'm rather a busy pony, so let's get down to the point. Sorry if I disappoint, I usually enjoy the to and fro, but I really lack the time today." He replied, turning and beginning to walk towards the palace slowly, still talking. "Tell me what you're interested in, I'll see how well I can cater to your needs. You seem to know what you want." He beckoned with a nod for her to follow him, his brown eyes locking with hers for a moment before he once again turned his head.

"Better be quick about it, before the herd comes back." Starling commented slyly, looking back over the alley leading to the where the flock of fillies were still looking for him. None have come through yet, maybe they discouraged. Good, it meant that at least that headache was taken care of, for now anyway. Now he only had to deal with this one mare's wit. Nothing he couldn't handle, really. He really just wanted to get a proper admission out of her, rather than beating around the bush. He figured that if by the time they reached the palace she wouldn't get to it, he really would be better off spending his time alone, relaxing in his chambers. After all, wasting hours on his life on a smart alec was not something he ever enjoyed doing.

[candy]

"I'm rather a busy pony, so let's get down to the point. Sorry if I disappoint, I usually enjoy the to and fro, but I really lack the time today." Pupil muscles pinched when the cursed statement left his lips. She felt the tempting, coax of ire seep into her veins like an intoxication. She clasped the lower, tender flesh of her lips between her ivories, forcing her slender chassis after him. Thoughts twisted mildly behind the scenes, but she kept her benign, covert. " Oh shame... In case you haven't already guessed, I rather enjoy the pleasurable games of flirting banter..." Seething gaze, swooped off to the side, and lush forelock curtained her facade. "Tell me what you're interested in, I'll see how well I can cater to your needs. You seem to know what you want." Acoustics flickered atop her chiseled pate as those masculine verbals graced them. She flipped her tiara, sending her threads into disarray about her nape. The sunlight caught their healthy strands and washed across the surface like pouring liquid. So he was looking for the truth? Well Candy Lips wasn't the mare for honest devotions, nor was she easily played into speaking the utter truth. A mare that played her game, won with her deck, aced every stallion and took her tokens. She didn't waste time with heart-to-heart folly, it was always boring and too gushy. "Better be quick about it, before the herd comes back." A chafed sigh pressed from her throat, looking back at the squalling tempest of fillies. Worthless creatures. If she wanted what she was after -which was ALWAYS the case, and she ALWAYS got it- she assumed she would have to turn off the foreplay for this straight forward brute. " I want to see your chambers." She spoke matter-of-fact like. When his skull pivoted on his spine to lock his stare with hers, she offered a sickeningly sweet grin. Falsely innocent.

[Red Charge]

"My chambers? What in the world would you be looking for in there?" Starling asked, "Surely whatever we could do in there, we could do anywhere else, no?" The armored bear of a horse asked, moving fluently across the street and into another one, taking a different path to the Royal Guard Barracks behind the palace. "I mean, a military barracks is hardly a place popular with the mares anyway." The stallion continued to comment, walking decidedly ahead of Candy Lips and not turning back when he spoke. "But, I do suppose if you're willing to be so bold about it..."

His body was still a mystery to Candy Lips, not an inch of it being revealed under his menacing armor. The only bit of him she was actually able to see were his two piercing brown eyes. He was known to have a woodland camo coat, something fairly uncommon among Equestrians, but even more so among the ponies in the Northern Barrens, his birthplace. His achievements in defeating the Ice Queen and the Blood Fang Pack in the Northern Barrens and Zebra Territories, as well as the dragon Slaad in the Griffon Kingdom were known far and wide. He was even said to be having a fling with Stygg, the daughter of King Whitefeather and the leader of the Griffon Elite Forces. He was obviously a trained warrior, one such as Candy Lips could easily tell the difference. His walk was light, yet tense at the same time, ready to spring. Though he was looking forwards, he was always aware of her position in relation to him, always knew exactly how to stay a set distance in front of her. Had a great idea of what he was saying and where he was going. Yet even though he reeked of experience, he still managed to appear casual, almost a bit playful in his own way.

He did indeed show her to his chambers, it is enough to say she did indeed get what she oh so desired - to see the field marshal without his armor.