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Post by cloudfall on Oct 22, 2011 21:40:04 GMT -5
In the halls of Canterlot's Military HQ, strong, bold and fierce soldiers of all races marched up and down, heading to their destinations, to their duties. Some trained, some sparred, some rested for a new day, others ate. And in the Mess Hall, sitting at a table next to the wall, about half way back, sat a small, lone Pegasus wearing a dark cloak.
Cloudfall sighed as he poked at, what he assumed to be, his food. He never did like cafeteria food. He wondered if should ditch and head into town for something to eat. No, he was already here and had some in front of him, and it wasn't that bad. Okay, it was a bit of an acquired taste, but still. It was free.
He glanced around the room for a moment, looking at the other hungry ponies who enlisted. With a sigh, he looked back to his tray and reminded himself why he was here. He wanted to get stronger, better, to protect ponies. Even if the whole deal kind of reminded him of school. He hated his school.
He shook his head to clear his mind. It was better not to think about that. He had to keep looking forward, a way to get through all this. He poked at his food again, this time sticking the fork in his mouth as he continued to ponder. Maybe he should ask about joining a stealth team. He was good at being quiet, after all.
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Post by crystallance on Oct 23, 2011 12:44:48 GMT -5
She clearly wasn’t the largest of ponies trotting about the mess hall, but that certainly didn’t weaken her influence. At the sight of Crystal Lance, the mess that was an entire hall cluttered with soldiers immediately organized to form a clear path. In a just that single moment, the fierce soldiers within the mess hall made way in salute for the recently reappointed magic general.
She wasn’t there to get food. No… Crystal was definitely not a grunt. And besides, she had access to much better food, plus ponies to get it for her. She was there to keep track of the soldiers. Every now and then, Crystal trotted away from her office to inspect a small portion of HQ, regularly keeping up to date with the status of Equestria’s Forces. She didn’t get paid for it. It was no obligation of hers. It was more of a minor obsession. She made an effort to do this whenever possible; even keeping up with the ponies she had no real command over.
Not a single pony could avoid her cold stare as she trotted by. Just looking from face to face, Crystal could practically recognize everypony in the mess hall by name. She certainly recognized the earth pony Iron Sight, a skilled and reliable marks-stallion, though one arrogant and absolutely full of himself at the same time. His presence absolutely disgusted her as she subtly glimpsed over the scene he made, gloating over his latest battle with the other soldiers. Her job required limited interaction with the stallion and Crystal Lance was grateful for it. She would have absolutely refused to spend another second around that pony. Napalm Flame the unicorn was only a slightly different story. It seemed for almost everypony in the room… Crystal had some sort of cynical judgment to make.
…All except for the lone, dark pegasus she surprisingly couldn’t recognize.
Had he somehow snuck his way into Equestria’s Forces? It surely seemed like it. She had never seen him before and unlike the other soldiers, the pegasus seemed to keep to entirely to himself. He certainly came off as the sneaky sort of pony. Sneaky types were not the types of ponies Crystal had an easy time trusting. It was time to see just who this pegasus stallion was.
“YOU THERE!” Crystal shouted assertively from behind him. Call it prejudice or not, but Crystal was already pretty cynical of his motives to begin with. She was determined to get an answer out of the him, more than willing to find other ways to grab his attention if he had somehow failed to hear her. “New recruit right over there! I want you to tell me just who you are, pegasus!”
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Post by cloudfall on Oct 23, 2011 19:26:24 GMT -5
Cloudfall sat poking at his food, as his eyes drifted up the wall as his mind wandered through ideas and ponders. A yell from behind him snapped him back to reality, causing him to freeze. 'Okay, relax. They probably don't mean you.' he told himself before the voice called out again, this time pinpointing a new pegasus recruit. Okay, it was definitely him.
Cloudfall swallowed the lump in his throat, a long with a bit of food, and slowly turned to find the source of the somewhat frightening voice. Lots of the other recruits were looking at him now, but that one, tall Unicorn mare was glaring at him like he just ate her last piece of chocolate after a bad night. Just his luck.
Slipping away from the table, the shy Pegasus made his way over to the Unicorn, doing his best to stand tall in front of her, for what little it did. He was still one of the shortest ponies in the building. He gave her a shaky salute, "C-cloudfall, Ma'am. From Cloudsdale... I, uh, just signed up the other day."
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Post by crystallance on Oct 24, 2011 16:15:49 GMT -5
“And as if that weren’t so OBVIOUSLY apparent!” Crystal shouted toward the dark pegasus, irritatedly responding to his past statement. If it had not been for his recent enlistment into Equestria’s Forces, Crystal probably wouldn’t have been interrogating the poor pegasus in the first place.
Cloudfall, eh…? No wonder he managed to slip right by me… Crystal pondered as she glared down upon the pegasus, towering above him with her judgmental eye. He appeared much shorter than the typical pegasi soldier. He also seemed to have a way of “blending in” with the crowd, given the dark colors of his pelt and the cloak he wore. It was no wonder that she failed to notice him before.
From her eyes, he was nothing but a spineless coward. Already a good minute of confrontation and he had still been shaking in his hooves. Just where would a pegasus like him even fit in within the military?
“So, Cloudfall…” Crystal began speaking to the nervous pegasus. “Is there any specific institution of this military a pegasus of your size and build might have an interest in? Dogfighting? Artillery? Perhaps a medic, maybe?”
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Post by cloudfall on Oct 24, 2011 22:12:00 GMT -5
Despite his efforts, Cloudfall flinched again when Unicorn mare raised her voice, and he squirmed under her relentless glare. This was not the type of welcome he was expecting, he was... well, he didn't know what to expect. He just kind of dived into this life. Too late now, I suppose.... he thought to himself
He tried looked up at the mare again, but he couldn't keep the eye contact. Why did she look so mad at him? Did he do something wrong? Was he supposed to meet her on his first day? He chewed on the inside of his lip as he tried to figure it out, waiting for the commanding Unicorn to say something.
Then she did. She wanted to know where he would fit in? He actually did manage to look up at her now. Dogfighter? He was able to hold his own well enough out by Hoofington, but that was avoiding getting hit then actual fighting, so no. Not a dogfighter. Artillery? He wasn't even sure what she ment by that. A medic? No, he has no medical skills either...
"Uh..." Cloudfall started to say, his eyes dropping back to the floor, "Well, no. None of those, really. I'm not much of a fighter, but I'm quick and quiet, Ma'am. I could be a scout or a messenger, or something else that, um... requires a light touch, Ma'am..." He cleared his throat and forced himself to keep talking, "I know don't look like much, right now, Sir--Ma'am, but put me some place that's, uh... out of sight, h-hidden, and I won't let you down."
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Post by crystallance on Oct 25, 2011 14:56:22 GMT -5
“Hmph! Useful enough I guess…” Crystal immediately snapped back at the pegasus. Suddenly it all made sense to her. He was a stealth-pony. Looking down at the pegasus Cloudfall, she could start to see that sort of potential in him. Sure he was shaking in his hooves like a little foal, but she could easily imagine him being both “quick and quiet” on the field now.
“Well then… Do you know just who I am around here colt?” Crystal continued to interrogate the new recruit, giving a long dramatic pause as if expecting the question to be answered. Just as Cloudfall seemed to move his mouth, Crystal promptly interrupted him with a cold and assertive haste. “I’m Crystal Lance, head of Equestria’s Forces Magical Division. I command Luna’s mages and lead the research and recruitment pertaining to this military’s magical affairs.”
“Clearly, a military cannot withhold itself simply relying on magic alone...” Crystal added to the statement. “Whatever you’re doing in this military… call it stealth, or dogfighting, or whatnot… you’ll likely find yourself being given the responsibility of working with my mages at least sometime down the road. Whatever happens, I surely wouldn’t wish to find an entire platoon of mine killed in action simply due to the incompetence of one single scrawny pegasus… Are we clear on that colt?!”
Despite being able to believe his place in the military as a stealth-pony, Crystal could still not entirely trust neither his motivation nor his competency. The white unicorn’s distrustful eye only continued to glare down upon the face of dark pegasus.
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Post by cloudfall on Oct 26, 2011 4:48:28 GMT -5
Another flinch came from the Pegasus as he was deemed 'useful enough'. Is that what this was all about? His usefulness to her? A small pang of annoyance sprung up in the back of the dark pony's mind. If he was barely useful, why was she waiting her time on him?
He started to open him mouth to take a guess at her identity, just to be cut off with the very information. As Crystal Lance continued her... speech, Cloudfall couldn't help but feel like she was trying to get a rise out of him. Wait. Was that what this was? A test of some sort? He bounced this thought around in his head a little before having it derailed. Crystal's talk of him getting a whole squad killed hit something inside him. He shook his head and stood taller, but kept his eyes down.
"I wouldn't let that happen, Ma'am..." He said, his voice shaking less then before, "I'm no expert on loss, but I've felt it, Ma'am, and... and I came here to help put a stop to it. I would..." he paused for a second, "...I would sooner put myself on line, Ma'am, then let that feeling spread."
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Post by crystallance on Oct 28, 2011 0:54:20 GMT -5
Crystal’s eyes widened as she heard the words of the dark pegasus. No longer did they seem to shake and stutter. To her, they had now appeared firmer. Not only that, but the pegasus’ posture also appeared to grow a bit firmer, all while still maintaining a rather respectful attitude toward his superior. But most importantly, it was the actual content of his words that somehow managed to hit a rare soft spot in her heart. Sure, he was still a just lousy pegasus… but maybe he was also a little something more.
“So you wish to put an end to loss, colt?” Crystal Lance questioned Cloudfall again, her voice a bit softer this time around. “I would call you a blasted foal for desiring such a thing… if only I did not share the exact same foalish desires myself,” Crystal admitted to the pegasus. She paused for a second in reminiscence. “I remember losing some of my best friends in my first deployment to battle… And how I wish I could have protected them better back then… Loss is truly a terrible feeling…”
“…So just what motivated you to join Equestria’s Forces Cloudfall? Where exactly did you get your start?”
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Post by cloudfall on Oct 28, 2011 13:56:57 GMT -5
Cloudfall felt himself relax a bit more, finding it easier to stand before the powerful Unicorn now that they shared some common ground. It might have been his imagination, but her voice seemed to grow softer as well. It felt like she was actually talking to him now, instead of drilling into him. This allowed him to look up at Crystal Lance and hold his posture easier as she spoke of her own loss.
"I... lost a dear friend to the Everfree Forest. That's my driving force. What I remind myself of... to keep going." The Pegasus took a breath before continuing. She would probably want to know what he's actually done. "I aided the Ponyville Militia in fighting back the creatures that attacked Hoofington not to long ago, did some training, then came straight here." His eyes dropped to the floor again for a moment before looking back to Crystal. "At first I was focused on the Everfree and its horrors, but I realized there's monsters everywhere, and figured I could do more good from here."
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Post by crystallance on Oct 28, 2011 15:18:42 GMT -5
“A noble goal indeed…” Crystal Lance complimented the pegasus. “I truly wish my motivations could have been as selfless as yours back when I was a new recruit. Honestly, I didn’t care about saving lives or giving my service to Equestria back then. I was only really there in spite of my stepfather at the time. It wasn’t until much later that I realized how important Equestria was to me… And how important it was to protect it from the monsters lying within its borders…”
“Well Cloudfall, you certainly appear to be a respectful pegasus,” Crystal continued in speaking to the pegasus. “You may not always be able to speak confidently in the face of your superiors, but at least you never seem to forget your place. On top of that, I find your motives to be both honorable and true.”
She at first doubted him, and yet he managed to prove himself somepony worthwhile. There were pegasi all across Equestria that Crystal would never be able to get along with. Even if her life depended on it. But then again, there were always exceptions for everything.
“You’re interested in scouting, correct…? Anything that would require a ‘light touch’, pretty much? How would you like the opportunity of being my own personal messenger, Cloudfall? It would certainly offer to you a few connections within this military, at least.”
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Post by cloudfall on Oct 28, 2011 18:56:37 GMT -5
Cloudfall was a little taken back by how much Crystal was opening up to him, when she was glaring holes into him just a moment earlier. On top of that, she actually seemed to complement him. He just continued to stand in front of the Unicorn and, unsure how to respond, she settled on giving a small nod and a "Thank you, Ma'am."
Cloud tilted his head a little at Crystal's offer. She wanted him to be her messenger? He could do it, certainly, it just caught him off guard. "A-are you sure, Ma'am?" he heard himself ask and quickly corrected himself, "I.. I mean. It would be an honour, and I'll do my best. Ma'am." If she was serious, then this would be a lucky turn of events.
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Post by crystallance on Oct 29, 2011 9:12:06 GMT -5
“I’m sure you will colt,” was all that Crystal responded to him with, a sterner expression returning to her face alongside her typical ‘no-nonsense’ attitude. She gave a brief sigh at the return of his shaking and stuttering habit. This was certainly a great opportunity for the both of them, but frankly the pegasus’ nervous attitude was starting to become annoying. “And just why would I be uncertain? Do I look like a mare of indecision?” she sternly questioned the dark pegasus again, somewhat returning to that ill-tempered, critical, and interrogative attitude of hers.
“Anyway, it’s about time I found a new ‘eyes and ears’ of Equestria. And it should prove vital now more than ever…” Crystal began to ponder in the face of her new messenger. “Your work pegasus will soon prove a key element to Equestria’s well-being and prosperity! Just as Princess Luna said to me before, our military is but a shadow of what it had once been in the past! I’m going to need you to bring to me information on young unicorns ripe with skill and potential that we have yet to recruit. Can you handle that task for me Cloudfall?”
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Post by cloudfall on Oct 29, 2011 15:51:09 GMT -5
Cloudfall flinched once more as Crystal's voice grew harsher again, but he figure that's what he gets for questioning her. He would remember that, at least until he was braving to stand up to ponies like her. A voice in the back of his mind laughed at him for the thought. He ignored it and brought himself back to the now, as Crystal Lance was explaining what he was going to be doing.
The cloaked Pegasus nodded, "Yes Ma'am." Find talented Unicorns and report back to her. Sounded simple enough. "Where would you have me start?" He wanted to ask more, but didn't want to risk having the Unicorn raise her voice again.
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Post by crystallance on Nov 3, 2011 21:55:30 GMT -5
“Well, I certainly haven’t heard from Ponyville in quite a while…” Crystal pondered in the face of her messenger. “Yes! Ponyville would certainly seem like a reasonable move at this point. And I’m aware that Princess Celestia had been training her own personal protégé prior to her departure. I’d love it if you could look into that situation but you can’t, it would be just fine. There should be other skilled unicorns in town and besides—I don’t need you to rush things just yet…” Crystal instructed him.
“Honestly, my hooves are a bit filled already. Getting these newer recruits up to our military’s standard is truly no joke… But the more ponies we have, the better, I assume…”
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Post by cloudfall on Nov 4, 2011 0:41:51 GMT -5
Go to Ponyville. Check in with Celestia's student, Twilight, if he recalled correctly. And, failing that, find other Unicorns in the area. And apparently he was allowed to take his time. Cloudfall nodded as he finished his mental checklist.
"Alright. I'll head back there first thing. I know the area well, so it shouldn't take too long." He didn't live there, but he did spend a lot of time in the area. "Oh. How or where should I contact you when I finish?"
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