The hangover from the after party was beyond horrible… so much so it should probably have been a war crime with how much alcohol she forced down her gullet.

But, Stella Sabre knew that she–for once–deserved every little bit of celebration she was able to cram into her slender, yet muscular little body. Her eyes were crusted over, her throat felt like it was molting a shell, and her head pounded and pulsated with the force of artillery barrage during the Equidae War.

But by Luna, if she didn’t wake up feeling like an accomplished, brand new mare ready to tell the world to 'fuck right off and die' with renewed vigor, she truly hadn’t accomplished much.

As she opened her crusty eyes to Luna’s moon beginning it’s first trek through the sky, her excitement and energy expelled any and all pain.

Her golden eyes widened and sparkled with pride. Her perfect rows of pearly whites accented by her four pointy fangs shimmered in the night. Her navy-blue mane was matted and an abomination of nature.

And her grey coat, a smidge blue at the right angles of light, was disheveled.

She also still harbored the faint smell of alcohol.

But, Stella did it. As of last night, she was the youngest pony to be promoted to Captain of the Lunar Guard with all honors and merits associated. The entire guard turned out for the whole ordeal as Princess Luna awarded her new rank and responsibilities.

One of Stella’s greatest dreams had been realized… and as she fumbled out of bed and to her hooves, she let out a strained whine of pleasure from stretching her lower back.

It was time to live that dream of hers.

She trusted her balance a little too much upon just waking, and she ended up losing track of her hooves’ location and fumbling over herself again. She slammed into her dresser with the full force her hip could muster, nearly splintering the piece of furniture.

“Fuckin’… Shit. Fuck you, dresser, ya limp tosser!” she hissed in her iconic rasp of an accent.

She still needed to break in the Captain’s Quarters.

Stella was able to amble to her private bathroom, and after nearly falling to the floor at what she saw staring back at her in the mirror, she wasted little time in getting the shower running.

While she was a mare of practicality and form over function, presentation was equally as important to her. It, of course, helped that she was ‘objectively’ beautiful for a mare.

With a ‘subjectively’ high opinion of herself.

A deep cleaning was most warranted, and Stella emerged a new mare! It was another quick little step of flinging open her wooden chest at the foot of her bed and retrieving her brand new armor set awarded to her last night.

Black as onyx with chrome accents around the shoulder and chest plates. The moonlight reflected brilliantly off her new wear.

It was a quick bit of sleight of hoof and a hair-tie to ensure her mane was in its proper ponytail style, with the coif in the back nearly matching the one in her tail. Her eyes were alert and crust free, and her coat had been deep-cleaned, fluffed, and brushed to perfection.

Stella’s mental checklist was complete, and to make sure of this, she spared herself one look in her wall-height mirror. Staring back at her was an accomplished mare—a thestral who had brought great honor and pride to both her species and her family.

And it was time to go to work.

“Right! Let’s do this shit.”

Stella beamed and nodded to herself in the mirror before slipping out of her door and into the main barracks of the Lunar Guard. Despite taking a quicker route out towards the castle, she was still greeted with cheers and respectful salutes by her subordinates and comrades in arms—even the ones whom she wasn’t particularly fond of.

Her pride surged—she could now directly reform and control how the Lunar Guard operated with Her Majesty’s blessings.

First things were first, though: as a Captain, Stella had been given an office in the administrative headquarters of the Royal Guard. She had to quickly get settled before she could call a rally of her troops and brief them on what was to come.

Yet, as she meandered with a purpose through the cobblestone hallways with hanging tapestries and fancy, multi-paned windows of various designs, she couldn’t help but feel a mite disappointed at this revelation. Since she was no longer a lieutenant, her previous platoon did not report directly to her anymore. Her extra responsibilities would make it so that she couldn’t train with them as often as she’d like.

But, things would be as they were.

Stella came to a stop when she arrived at a single, ebony-wood door toward the end of the Guard Quadrant… a door that harbored a shiny, silver nameplate engraved with her name and rank.

And at that sight, if asked, Stella would never confirm that her eyes got a tad misty.

She inserted the key into the lock, and twisted it just enough where the unlatching was obvious, and she pushed her way inside. Magical candles instantly lit up a dim purple at her entrance, and revealed a rather spartan setup that was just begging for her own customization. A simple desk at the center, along with a bookcase and an armor closet.

It definitely needed some pictures and sprucing up.

However, fate had other plans, when there were already three gentle knocks at the door behind her.

Eh?

Stella turned around and found another pony having wandered into her domain. A batpony of wavy, pink mane and tail with magenta eyes to boot, her silver uniform was smooth and wrinkle-free—a mite contrast to the armor of Stella and her troops. Her muzzle and cheeks were soft-featured, and the unsure look in her eyes made her quite unassuming.

The new captain also took note of the rank insignia she had never seen before, but looked oddly familiar to a staff sergeant. Even further, the new mare carried a notebook in her left hoof that she seemed to regard dearly against her chest.

She didn’t belong. Clearly.

“E-Excuse me, Ma’am?” came her timid, ‘normal’ accent that Stella was all too used to around Canterlot.

Stella trot over with curiosity etched onto her features.

“Aye…? Can I help you, soldier?”

“Are you Captain Sabre?”

Stella cocked her eyes, wary at the sudden question. Was she to be needed for something the moment she took on the mantle of her new job?

She nodded slowly, the raise eyebrow never abating.

“I am…”

Immediately, the new mare stepped to attention, and her uniform crackled with the sound of some static with how perfectly pressed it was. In truth, though Stella recoiled a tad at the sudden movement, she had never seen a more perfect salute in her life—she couldn’t have replicated it herself if she tried.

“Sergeant Coruscant Dusk. Reporting in and ready for duty,” she announced.

Stella blinked, her mouth unevenly slackened… but running through multiple options in her mind based on the scenario at hoof, she figured she understood things.

“Ummm… fuckin’ Highground…” she cursed the name of one of her best friends “Look mate, I’m not sure what yer gettin’ at, but whoever paid you fer the whole celebratory hooker experience, I think ye need tae ask fer yer money back ‘cause I’m not really into that shit.”

It was Coruscant’s turn to blink harshly, and her form faltered.

“P-Pardon me, Ma’am?”

“I mean… if ye don’t want tae waste yer time, the Lunar Barracks are just down that way,” Stella directed with her hoof out her door. “I’m sure they’ll get good use outta ya. Just let ‘em know Stella sent ya… and take alotta pain killers.”

Stella huffed in amusement as she turned around, dismissing her company.

“You’ll need ‘em.”

Coruscant vehemently shook her head and gestured appropriately with her front hoofs.

“Oh… OH NO! NO! Ma’am, no no no no… I’m not a… ehm… a ‘hired mare,’” she alluded, dispelling Stella’s notions. Her cheeks also blushed profusely, even more evident from her darker coat.

Stella turned back around, rolling her eyes. Yet, once her attention was sufficiently garnered again, her company instantly averted eye-contact and crossed her right hoof over the other.

The Northern thestral exhorted clarification.

“Then what the fuck’re you here for, mate? Yer not in armor, and yer dressed like some fuckin’ ponce outta the academy… I don’t have all day, so either spit it out, or swallow like a mare, wipe yer chin, and fuck off.”

Stella’s gaze was fierce, and her furrowed brow scrutinized every fiber of Coruscant’s being—her time was being wasted, after all. As the captain expected, her body retreated into itself for a moment before she cleared her throat again.

“Ehm… Ma’am, I was ordered to report to you for… wait, do you not know?” she suddenly asked, and her face had lit up as if some mental process had connected some dots.

Stella was even more confused.

“Know what, Sergeant?!”

“I’m your adjutant, Captain.”

Stella’s mouth slackened once again, and her eyes widened in horror. Disbelief was scrawled on her face in thick, black pen and highlighted twice over.

“Fuckin’… what?!” she demanded, then shook her head as she advanced upon Coruscant, who began to backpedal apprehensively. “Ohhh… no no no, I work alone, Sergeant. I had one platoon tae foalsit, and now I’ve got many—I don’t need you cocking up the mix. You’re dismissed. Have a nice night!”

But unfortunately, that wasn’t the end of the ordeal.

“Princess Luna herself assigned me here, Captain!” Coruscant declared hastily… despite Stella literally shoving her out the door.

“Aye?” Stella questioned. “Show me yer ‘fifteen-ten.’ Come on, lass. Hoof it!” she demanded with an outstretched hoof.

Coruscant produced a softer affirmation and rummaged through some papers on her clipboard. After a few seconds, she retrieved a simple reporting slip with every bit of information filled in, and presented it to Stella.

Stella gingerly took said slip and began to skim through it. Her eyes widened in horror due to it not being out of order… but that everything was correct.

Especially Princess Luna’s signature and royal stamp right on the bottom. From all the time Stella had been around and spent working closely with the Night Princess, she knew for a fact that the signature was not forged. The stamp was only in her possession, likewise.

And this all terrified her.

“Ah, fuck…” she cursed under her breath after handing the form back to Coruscant, who hastily re-filed it back into its proper place.

“M-Ma’am?” Coruscant questioned tentatively, but Stella thrust a hoof out and shook her head.

“Nothin’. Fuckin’ nothin’ at all,” she replied, then after burying her head in her hoof for a split second to catch her breath over what remained of her hangover, Stella raised her gaze to meet an eager, if apprehensive new adjutant.

“So. Yer name’s Coruscant Dusk, right?”

The batpony’s pink, lightly curled mane bounced with her second salute of the day, along with a beaming smile characterized by naïve youthfulness and lack of experience.

“Yes Ma’am! But this soldier humbly suggests that she may also be called ‘Cori,’” she less than subtly led on.

Stella pursed her lips… her iron hoof with somepony by her side named ‘Cori’ didn’t entirely sit well with her, but in the end, the foul-mouthed captain had an internal mantra that often got her through sloughs in her tenure with the Guard.

Princess Luna knows best… Princess Luna knows best… Princess Luna knows best…

“Right,” Stella said tersely. “Well, in that case, you had a spot of breakfast yet?” she asked.

Cori shook her head.

“No Ma’am.”

Stella gestured with her hoof out her door.

“Then do ‘s a favor, lass. Grab two coffees and banana muffins from the Guard dining hall in the barracks. Also, a bottle o’ gin if ye happen tae find one, aye?” Stella ordered. There was plenty to do today, so they might as well have started out with a balanced breakfast with all the nutritional content they would need to complete their tasks for the day.

Cori wasted no time in swiping a pen from her pressed uniform’s coat via her mouth and audibly scribbling every little detail onto her notepad.

She then saluted for a third time.

“You got it, Captain! I’ll be back shortly!”

And with that, she scampered away out the door and into the night, almost as suddenly as she had arrived in the first place, leaving a stunned Stella to pick up the pieces as to what just happened in the span of three minutes.

It was her first day on the job as a high-ranking officer that was actually in charge of important things.

She had to oversee essentially the entirety of the Lunar Guard.

And now she had to potentially babysit an adjutant who had more wide-eyed innocence than a newborn foal.

Stella continued to mull on the latter as she made her way to her desk, then sat down to open up her first folder for the day.

The fuck did I get m’self into?

Perhaps it was her fault that she didn’t inquire in the first place as to all the terms and conditions of her promotion therein—she didn’t exactly recall any of the other captains of either the Solar or Lunar Guards needing an adjutant.

Or perhaps she never paid enough attention?

Also perhaps, she was likely so drunk last night when Luna and her had a private discussion, that she probably missed every little bit of what she talked about. The details of this little predicament were likely enclosed within that conversation that Stella was not so sure she was even in the same plane of reality at that point.

Stella’s eyes scanned the docket in front of her, detailing current troop deployments around the castle and patrol schemes. She knew exactly where she could make changes to increase efficiency immediately.

But in the end, when she would get the Princess’ blessing on these changes, she would inquire about Cori and why she was assigned to her? The magenta-eyed, ‘cute’ young mare was a stark contrast to Stella’s hardened, borderline abrasive personality. Surely Princess Luna would have the foresight to see the potential conflicts and problems that would arise out of this?

There was only one way to get her answer, but for now, her only course of action was to just, well, stay her course.

And that’s when Stella realized that she had been thinking to herself for over ten minutes. The barracks were not far away at all. Her impatience swelled.

“Oh fer fuck’s sake…” she mumbled, pushing herself out of her chair and stomping out of her office to retrieve her—likely—lost subordinate.

It took a lot more effort than she had expected for the sentry to let her into the barracks. But even so, Cori was determined.

As she bright eyes scanned her surroundings while she meandered through the corridors amongst her kin, she couldn’t help but wonder if the entire castle was not aware of her presence save for Princess Luna? She had met with her personally for her assignment. Why was nopony recognizing her presence?

After all, the sentry threatened to arrest her for impersonating a Sergeant.

Though really, her rank was only like a Sergeant, so there technically was some truth to that accusation in a different context. Her rank was provisional.

No matter.

Come on… come on… she spoke to herself as she tried to find her way to the exit.

Why was nothing… organized?

And her drawing the attention of the other soldiers via inquisitive stares and outright hostile brow raises was not helping her nervousness at the moment. For such a simple ‘bitch’ task as grabbing coffee and food, she already had high blood pressure. She might as well have been thrown right into the gauntlet.

Of course this would happen to Cori. She almost expected it. Her luck had never been with her since she decided not to go into her wealthy family business, and opted to do something different with her life to help find that sense of belonging.

And now, after balancing a tray of two piping-hot coffees, two fruit muffins, and a questionably-easy-to-obtain bottle of Stella’s requested alcohol over her outstretched wings, she had gotten lost on her way out.

“U-Um… excuse me?” Cori beckoned a passing thestral mare in armor.

She received the same, borderline condescending look that she had been used to this entire night.

“Umm, yeah?”

“You know where the exit is?”

The gray-coated batpony regarded her with a deadpan, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Cori didn’t exactly appreciate it, but it wasn’t like she was in any power to reprimand at this point.

The nameless mare gestured down the hall.

“Down yonder. Make a left all the way at the end and enter into the first door on the right.”

Finally!

Cori smiled, nodding.

“Thanks for that!”

“You new here…?” the helpful soldier mare asked, not entirely sure what to address Coruscant as on account of an unfamiliar rank insignia on her shoulder.

“Heh… y-you could say that,” she said, and her posture retreated a bit into her natural shyness.

“I see… well,” the private flipped her perfectly straight mane to the other side of her neck.

“I wouldn’t advertise that if I were you…”

Cori cocked her head. A couple other batponies passed between them—both regarded her with mixed expressions.

“Low profile, eh?” she ventured.

The soldier gave her another once-over.

“Well you’re fresh outta Canterlot Academy with that uniform on. We never see any of your kind over here, let alone a thestral like us in that uniform. You ain’t exactly ‘low profile’ amongst batponies.”

Cori had to concede that with a nod.

“Fair point.”

A new, young yet masculine Trottingham voice cut into their little exchange.

“Hey, Vorti!”

Cori’s conversational partner rolled her eyes and turned to an incoming trio of identically-armored thestral guards, and it was only then that she realized the mare’s nameplate read ‘Vortex.’

“I told you never to call me that, asshole.”

The multi-colored batpony stallions crowded around the two of them, along with a few other mutual comrades. Cori gauged her surroundings with quick, shifting eyes and her right hoof began to idly and subconsciously paw at the ground.

Her comfort level was decreasing monotonically by the second.

“Aww, am I embarrassing you in front of your new…” the newcomer, who’s nameplate read ‘Aero’ regarded Cori with a questionable once-over. “…friend?”

Vortex shrugged.

“Not really. Don’t really know who she is, actually,” she said, referring to her. “Was just a bit lost, is all.”

While others continued to point and whisper amongst themselves regarding the elephant in the room, Aero cocked his head.

“I’ll say…” he then addressed Cori directly. “I think you’re a little ways away from the academy, Cadet?”

Cori shook her head, and shot back with much less confidence than she had hoped to project:

“Oh, umm… n-no. I’m right where I should be, by orders of Princess Luna.”

There were a few murmurs, giggles, and ‘oooohs’ from all sexes and ages all around her. It seemed there was certainly a crowd of armored batponies that was continuing to form in this wide artery hallway.

And Cori didn’t exactly have a way out, much to her apprehensiveness and annoyance.

Aero exaggeratedly widened his eyes.

“Oooh? Princess Luna huh? Looks like we’ve got a big shot here… how’d you even get here anyway? You’re no army mare outta basic. What gives?”

“Yeah, why’re you here?” came another unconvinced question from over her shoulder.

“Aye! She’s no fokkin’ guard!”

“What rank is that?”

Cori’s mind was suddenly swimming in a sea of insecurity. A gentle sheen of moisture was readily apparent under her visor cap and her uniform was much too tight around her midsection for some reason.

“I’m… I’m assigned here…” she put forth hastily.

Aero pressed on with a shrug.

“Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe you’re over your head? You even from around here? You got a heavy Canterlot tone about you. What clan are you from?” came another barrage of questions.

“You from the ranges, mate?”

“Nah, she’s not from the mountains. Look at her!”

“She playing at a batpony, too?!”

“She from Mareitonia?”

“Don’t insult us like zhat… ve don’t sound like Canterlonians!”

Though there was no physical obstacle behind her, Coruscant felt backed against a wall right now with no way out until answers were given that she could not physically provide. Her breathing became labored and her pupils shrunk to pinpricks under the scrutiny of what should have been her comrades in arms. Her legs wanted to collapse from under her and she felt a strong urge to bury her head in the nearest fountain.

They were right.

Her exemplary scores at the military academy didn’t mean anything.

She wasn’t where she belonged.

She was way over her head.

Once this embarrassment was over, she’d file for dismissal immediately from—

“Oi!! What the fuck’s goin’ on over ‘ere?!” came a familiar Northern drawl that pierced the wall of voices like a reinforced arrow.

Coruscant’s ears perked up (along with everypony else’s) and all bore witness to the new Captain Stella Sabre literally shove aside her subordinates to enter into the circle.

Her eyes honed in on Cori and her rather less-than-desirable position, then regarded her more fearful, surrounding soldiers with a steely gaze.

“S’goin’ on ‘ere, Sergeant?” Stella hissed.

Silence bore down instantly upon hearing Stella drop her rank. The Captain also moved to Cori’s side.

“I…I… well, I got our breakfast and…”

Stella’s eyes locked with Aero and, as if by some force of nature, she automatically knew.

“Corporal!” Stella roared, stomping over to Aero who instinctively took several steps back, though his comrades behind him prevented him from moving any further backward.

He retreated into his posture, his hind legs bucking under Stella’s scowl.

“M-Ma’am?”

“Were you an’ yer mates givin’ me adjutant fuckin’ lip service?”

While she waited for his answer, she briefly dragged her steely gaze across the sea of batponies who had congregated… all poorly attempted to avoid eye-contact.

“Y-Your ‘adjutant,’ Ma’am?”

“ANSWER THE FUCKIN’ QUESTION! And don’t you fuckin’ lie tae me ya disrespectful cunt.” Stella bellowed, forcing a whine out of her target.

Cori physically could not look away from the scene. Nopony could.

Aero’s initial words were stammering messes as he couldn’t bear to look at his Captain fully.

“Yes… yes I was, Ma’am.”

Stella backed off and donned a deceitfully prideful smile.

“Well! Look’s like we’ve got ourselves a fuckin’ macho pony ‘ere! Tryin’ tae assert yer fuckin’ dominance over a superior like some fuckin’ animal, mate?”

Stella then got on her hind legs and thrust both her front legs to her sides.

“Wanna assert? Come on then!” she dared. “Assert yer fuckin’ dominance! Whip that fuckin’ flaccid dick o’ yers out an’ let’s compare cocks!

“‘Cause lemme tell ye,” she fell to all four hooves again, thrusting the tip of her right front hoof in Aero’s horrified face. “Mine’ll be so much bigger than yers when it goes right up yer tight, cute little bunghole!”

Stella, with bared teeth, physically angled Aero’s face to look at her. She pressed her snout to his.

“I thought not, ya snivelin’ prick. And if you, ‘r anypony else breath a word of disrespect tae me adjutant… I will deck you in yer retarded mouth so FUCKING hard, you’ll be shitting out yer next three sets of fangs!”

Cori’s hoof went straight to her mouth. Her eyes were as wide as dinner plates by this point.

“Do I make m’self clear?” Stella finished.

Aero, eyes tearing up by this point, could barely manage an audible…

“Y-Yes M-Ma’am.”

Stella huffed, nodding and righting her posture.

“Four-day’s patrol duty without pay fer insubordination,” Stella announced. Her gaze narrowed at him again.

“Now fuck off.”

Aero did not need to be told twice, and quickly made his way out of the group.

Stella then addressed everypony else with the same, imperious bellow:

“Well? What’re you dickheads lookin’ at? Get the fuck back tae bein’ useful ‘r I’ll personally PT you m’self! Go on then! Piss off!” she ordered.

And with the tiniest of murmurs, the entire crowd disappeared and washed away like a drying puddle, leaving both Stella and Coruscant alone in the artery way.

Cori opened her mouth to thank Stella for her aid, but was cut off when she reached straight for one of the coffee mugs, hoofing it in her right crook and downing the entire contents in one shot.

And in another bout of pure surprise for the naïve adjutant, Stella grabbed the bottle of gin, twisted the cap off, and took several swigs to chase the coffee. She then set it back on the tray on Cori’s back and wiped her mouth with the back of her hoof.

“The coffee’s shite here, but by fuckin’ Luna’s heavenly haunches does it wake yer arse up. Had tae wash that shit down.”

Cori was not exactly swimming in potential replies to everything that just happened.

“I… I see. Thanks, by the way, for—”

Stella then, suddenly, harshly nudged Cori so she stumbled, but she expertly kept the tray balanced behind her. Sufficiently garnered for attention, Stella trained her ‘bollocking’ face onto her newest addition to her force.

“PULL YERSELF TOGETHER, LASS!” Stella exhorted harshly, having gripped Cori by the shoulders and shook her for emphasis.

The Captain separated and gestured to Cori’s being, the latter overcome with shame.

“Oh don’t carry yerself like that, mate!” she implored. “Look at ye… in yer little fuckin’ wanna-play-at-soldier outfit an’ yer fuckin’, wide-eyed virgin mare fuckin’ eyes. What the fuck are ye doin’ here?” she asked.

Then, to a nearly crying Cori, followed up with:

“Are ye playin’ at soldier? Or are you a fuckin’ soldier?!”

Cori shouted back—nearly losing herself:

“I am, Captain!”

Stella shook her head.

“Nae. I don’t think so. Yer no soldier…

“Not yet.”

Cori blinked at the implication. She was ready to tender her resignation at this point.

“Ma’am?”

“Yer part of me Guard now,” Stella informed. “Yer tae be me right-hoof mare as me adjutant. Yer gonna be me enforcer and me helper… and occasionally I use me right hoof tae whack off but that won’t apply to ya.”

“Ummmm…”

Stella ignored her implicit question.

“You just fuckin’ wait, ‘Sergeant,’” Stella affirmed, turning towards the exit to the barracks and waving Cori after her.

The latter quickly fell into step.

“I’mma make a bloody, right proper fuckin’ soldier mare outta you…”

Cori’s uniform was suddenly much too tight again.