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Post by Red Charge on Aug 8, 2013 18:37:20 GMT -5
After once more being denied an answer, in Watermark's sleep deprived sense he simply let go of his higher thinking functions, still locked in the strange state with Hoplite and leaned further over his desk, one hoof grabbed the back of Hoplite's head and using the strange imitation state in which they were in, began making out with the pony, who for some reason was still unable to resist.
In Watermark's defence, his kissing was amazing and when he finally broke it off after a moment he looked at Hoplite sleepily.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2013 18:47:07 GMT -5
Every part of Hoplite's being shrieked at him, this was wrong! He wanted so desperately to pull away when Watermark had shocked him with a very, *very* sudden kiss. Sadly for him, the zebracorn continued to make out with him for what felt like an uncomfortable eternity.
While he had to admit Watermark seemed to know what he was doing, every part of him short of his sense of touch screamed at him to move away. Even still, though, something kept him from pulling back. Something he couldn't quite put a hoof on as to what it was, the more he thought about it.
What felt like an age later, Watermark finally broke away, leaving the dumbfounded shield-bearer to simply stare at the zebracorn dumbfoundedly, desperately trying to deny what had just happened. Hoplite slowly and shakily got to his hooves and started making his way towards the exit, "I...I should go..." he commented, "Oh, and *you* should sleep."
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Post by Red Charge on Aug 9, 2013 15:39:57 GMT -5
Watermark slept for the rest of that day as Hoplite and Phalanx went to get their evaluations. The rest of the militia seemed to be in different opinions about theirs. Some were happy, some were very vocally angry. Apparently the evaluations spared no courtesy and spat out the truth in everyone's faces. Something which was good, depending on how they went about it. From the looks of things no one seemed to have been humiliated, but just found opinions much differing than their own. One who thought he was Wonderbolt material ended up being told he would barely pass basic flight training and so on and so forth.
When Phalanx entered Flamberge's room, she wasn't surprised to find him looking at a large notebook. He had been writing a lot in it, probably his impressions of them. Maybe it helped him remember, Harmony knows that in his old age he could use the help.
"So Phalanx, it's been a week, barely time for a proper evaluation in my opinion. I still don't know you very well as a pony, only as a trainee. I gotta say this, because it's the truth, you seem overly defiant. You do what you're told, but you don't like it. Frankly you look extremely sour about the training in general and I think you don't have the patience or the open-mindedness to really unlock your potential." He didn't look at his notes as he was talking to her, "You're not better than any of the other pegasi here, ponies with your attitude usually aren't the ones who excel in their job. Now I can see why you're all upset, I've been listening around a lot and I know more than most give me credit for. I also overheard that you asked to be transferred to the earth pony group, which is fine by me, every pony has their own field. However, you need to accept the fact that you probably don't know more than a teenager would about anything regarding militia-work, training, hierarchy or pretty much anything remotely related to what you do here. You're not particularly skilled, which is somewhat of a disappointment to me and you're not all around too clever. I'm not saying this to insult you, I'm saying it because it's important you understand how to let go of your fixated view of the world and maybe instead of being so stubborn, you open up your mind to the possibility that some ponies know better. I've had the pleasure of training hundreds of ponies just like you, who thought they knew best and that they could do well regardless of what anyone else thought. Those ponies never last, it just takes one irritable commander and one wrong word to get you kicked out again. I do however think you have a lot of potential if you just stopped resisting everything that's going on around you and frankly, start getting over things." Flamberge, "You've been getting better at the drilling, it'll be a shame not to have you in my group any more. Just keep in mind if the 'ruthless punching' is something you don't like, it's something you'll get every day in earth pony training." He chuckled, "Any questions?"
Hoplite was second of the siblings to enter his drill instructor in one of the rooms of the headquarters. Slate Head seemed incredibly stern and yet very relaxed at the same time, almost as though being stern looking had become a permanent expression for him.
"Hoplite, I've been doing this for a while, not nearly as long as Flamberge, but certainly a while. I'll be honest, once you learned to shut your mouth and stopped focusing on how others were doing, you rose right up to par. I think you have real potential as a warrior. Quite in fact if we were in the army, I'd even go far as try and get you in a course that would lead you to becoming a Shield Wall. That's right, now that Field Marshal Hightower is back, he's reforming and they're doing a lot of selections now to try and form a unit. I don't know how much that would interest you, or how committed you are to being a soldier. But you have the stuff, you just need to have a little more confidence. Now I'm going to pass on my recommendation to Watermark anyway, so if you decide to go for it, you need to stop letting other ponies and their business bother you and focus on your training and performance. I think you have a shot, you can trust me; last one I gave this speech to became a Field Marshal." Slate Head laughed, "Although in his case, he was a born natural, keen mind, keen reflexes. I can barely even say I trained him, he was a born warrior, you only see those once every other generation. If you have any comments or questions, go ahead, otherwise call in the next pony."
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Post by Deleted on Aug 9, 2013 15:57:14 GMT -5
Phalanx grumbled as she heard her name being called to enter Flamberge's room for her evaluation. Almost every pony she had watched step out of that office had a rather sour look, with only an occasional few actually holding a grin on their way out. Phalanx knew that she was probably going to be part of that first group.
After stepping inside and taking a seat, Phalanx took a minor interest in the notebook Flamberge had been writing in. Probably held little notes the drill instructor had been taking of each of the pegasi he had been evaluating. Phalanx smirked at the thought that he probably had a whole speech written down in there for each one so he could make it sound rehearsed.
And then the trail of insults and beration began again, most of which Phalanx found herself tuning out. Blah blah blah, you're not good enough for this, you don't know that, 'I'm not doing this to insult you, except that I'm outright insulting you', uh-huh. Yeah, Flamberge, this is sounding a lot like the speeches angry mothers give their foals right now. she thought as the pegasus continued. Yeah yeah, stop resisting and give in to the hivemind, so we can better control you and whatever. You'll never make it if you act this way, blah blah blah. Not like I haven't been thinking this stuff lately on my own. And hey, getting punched in the gut hard enough to break bones is better than being melted by the sun and doing laps that would make flight school seem easy by comparison.
What felt like an age later, the pegasus finally stopped, asking Phalanx for her input. As much as she may have wanted to address each and every thing the instructor had commented on, now was not the time for backlash. She could just keep that to herself and scream endlessly at him in her head without hurting anypony. Win-win. With that, she replied a simple, "No, sir," figuring she had to wait for an order or comment to leave.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 9, 2013 16:03:34 GMT -5
Hoplite stepped into Slate-Head's office calmly, one of the few ponies who had stepped inside without an air of paranoia in the past few minutes. He still tried to deny and forget the event with Watermark earlier that day, thankful that his efforts seemed to be yielding at least some results.
Having taken his seat, he listened as the drill instructor began, nodding periodically and letting his awe show through at the mention of the Shield Wall. As much as he may have figured that joining up with them would be an honour, something told him he wouldn't properly match up to his allies up there, considering he wasn't adept in the slightest with a weapon, and he was pretty sure his shield didn't count as a weapon to the officials. At that realization, he felt himself sink a bit, still listening intently to the instructor's words.
Soon enough the pony had finished, and Hoplite was free to respond and comment. Hoplite nodded once, then began, "Actually, yes sir. Pardon me if I'm just hearing this wrong, but by your word I'm starting to wonder if personal advancement and skill outranks helping one's allies. Don't get me wrong, I know teamwork is important, but each time I tried to help my fellow ponies however I could, that action was outright punished and banned. Am I just reading into this wrong?"
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Post by Red Charge on Aug 9, 2013 16:08:48 GMT -5
Flamberge shrugged at Phalanx, "Call the next one in when you leave will you?" He asked her.
As for Hoplite Slate Head laughed, "Obviously not son, but you weren't really helping anyone. You're still a trainee, remember? Focus on becoming a soldier before you focus on becoming a leader. Trust me in a field of battle I'm double sure you'd be the first to pull an injured comrade out of harm's way, but for now you're training so that situation doesn't have to happen with you being the injured one. Any more questions?"
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Post by Deleted on Aug 9, 2013 16:12:17 GMT -5
Phalanx stood up, briefly saluted with a, "Yes, sir," and stepping out of the room, waving down the next person in line before heading home.
Most of her trip home was idly spent thinking of ways to at least *seem* less, whatever it is Flamberge hated. She knew it wasn't as if she could change overnight, but she could at least make things easier by not coming across as defiant. Better keep those vicious thoughts to a minimum, at least until you get home, Fal...
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Post by Deleted on Aug 9, 2013 16:16:40 GMT -5
Hoplite shook his head, "No, sir, I think you've covered everything. I'll see you at drilling tomorrow, then." With that he stood up, briefly saluted the instructor, and stepped outside. After hailing down the next pony for their evaluation, memory of the buffet Watermark had set up suddenly came rushing to his mind. No doubt that was where Phalanx would've headed next, right? On that thought, he turned quickly and trotted towards the back of the headquarters, eager to see what Watermark had conjured up for this event.
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Post by Red Charge on Aug 9, 2013 16:18:39 GMT -5
Hoplite saw White Fire at the buffet, upon seeing him approach she waved at him. "Watermark's spent, it looks like, fell asleep on his desk." she laughed, "Poor thing hasn't slept since I got here, at least, that's as far back as I know and he already looked tired back then." She chuckled to herself and then as though reminded, she asked, "So how were your evaluations?"
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Post by Deleted on Aug 9, 2013 16:23:50 GMT -5
Hoplite was rather ashamed that Phalanx didn't seem to be attending the buffet, she wasn't usually the sort to refuse free food. Then again, recent events seemed to have changed her far to much from her usual state, he absently wondered if she'd ever bounce back. Ehh, probably not, her usual attitude would guaranteed be slapped down by the officials. Ah well, just hope she'll find *some* reason to smile soon...
Hoplite spotted somepony familiar in the crowd at the buffet, after squinting his eyes for a moment he knew exactly who it was: White Fire. With a grin, he approached the mare, who waved him down. "Watermark's spent, it looks like, fell asleep on his desk," he heard her say. Hoplite laughed along with her, the thought of Watermark collapsed with his face scrunched up on the table bringing a smile to his face. "So how were your evaluations?"
Thankfully, that was an easy question to answer. "Well, pretty normal honestly. Slate-Head seems to think I'm Shield Wall material," he shrugged widely, "Wait 'till he sees me at combat training, I've got the *very* distinct impression he'll change his mind."
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Post by Red Charge on Aug 9, 2013 16:28:45 GMT -5
"Oh," White Fire said, a bit uncomfortable, "Shield Walls are tough. Sure, they can smash a boulder or cause an earthquake with their bare hooves, but that comes with a price... their training is very demanding. Heck the training you're doing now is probably considered rest for them." She said, "But if you want to go for it, do! Shield Walls are legendary, back in the day my father tells me they were worth five dragons each. If you want, I can put in a good word for ya. Pays to know a Field Marshal, you know?" She winked at him, eating a sandwich in a single bite. "I don't even remember if I ate yesterday, so much work with the Mages and they all have questions and complaints and they want to be out fighting and all that." The unicorn sighed, "Guess we all want to be out there fighting don't we?"
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Post by Deleted on Aug 9, 2013 17:51:12 GMT -5
Hoplite shrugged in response, "Yeah, honestly I'm not looking to make a legend of myself, plus the Shield Wall doesn't sound like my thing as of right now, something tells me you'd have to be good with a weapon to join them anyhow."
Hoplite blinked, questions and complains from the mages? "Heh, yeah, suppose each of us want to take the fight to the Diamond Dogs rather than sit here and wait for them..." He took a quick bite out of his own sandwich before continuing, "What kind of complaints are you getting, if I might ask?"
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Post by Red Charge on Aug 9, 2013 18:01:10 GMT -5
"Weapons? No, the Shield Walls don't use weapons, they use their bare hooves. Besides, they do what you do, they shield. Honestly? I think you could make it," She said, sizing him up and down, "Tell you one thing, becoming a shield wall certainly will impress you with the ladies." She winked at him, "Where's your sister? Saw her earlier but haven't caught sight of her since she went in for evaluation."
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Post by Deleted on Aug 9, 2013 18:04:14 GMT -5
Hoplite rubbed the back of his head with a hoof, chuckling softly, "Nah, I think I'm good for now. Maybe somewhere *really* far down the line I might try this 'shield wall' thing, but right here and now I should be paying more attention to Hoofington and the militia. I might take you up on that offer if I ever decide to go for it, though."
Hoplite looked about briefly, still trying to spot his sister to no avail. "Honestly, I have no idea where she went. I know she went to evaluation, but I haven't seen her since then...huh, hope she's not getting herself into more trouble."
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Post by Red Charge on Aug 9, 2013 18:28:47 GMT -5
"Just let me know when, even though I don't really think they take fresh recruit, think you have to be in the army to join anyway, we'll get to that bridge when it comes I guess." She yawned, "You know what, I think I'll go home and rest. Long day today. If you were evaluated you can go home, spend some time with your sister or something." She waved casually to him as she began to walk out.
Watermark was probably still snoring inside and a lot of the militia members were starting to scatter seeing as nearly all of them got evaluated. With the Red Mages on duty, he had nothing to really do there, unless he was going to ask Slate Head for some personal 1 on 1 training.
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