Purity Ebonshield

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Sergeant Purity Ebonshield was enjoying the show.

"GET SOME! GET SOME! GET SOME!!"

Shouting at the top of her lungs while the carriage self-propelled of the Engineer Royal cruised around the racetrack of the Princess of the Sun, the Specialist Glamerspear conjured practice-spear after practice-spear and propelled them with force up towards the pegasus Specialist Sparkshower.

FWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSHHHHRRRRRRRCCCHHH

However, that same pegasus, propelled by the power fantastic of her magic lance, roared across the sky far too quickly for any of those spears to connect.

"... BUCK!"

Clearly, the missing was not pleasurable to the unicorn.

From Ebonshield’s vantage point in the grandstands, she could see everything that happened on the field below. And on today, the wind had chosen not to blow strongly, so, with her ears swivelled forwards, there was much she could hear, as well. The carriage rounded the corner and arrived once again on the final straight channel of grass and mud. At the controls sat the Corporal Bound, and beside her, the Engineer Royal.

The bronze armored human lifted up his hand. "Okay, that's enough of that. Corporal, bring us up at the start line. We're done."

With the order to halt, Glamerspear protested immediately. "But sir!"

The Corporal Bound pressed a pedal with her hind hoof, and the carriage lurched to a stop not far from where Ebonshield was seated. She got to her hooves and headed down to greet the rest of her quaternion and her VIP.

Sliding down the side of the vehicle, Anonymous lifted up his helmet, resting the armor piece on his brow. "Specialist Glamerspear, Sparkshower's new toy is very impressive, but I'm trying to show off the self-propelled carriage, not your ability to target a briefly-supersonic pegasus."

The unicorn removed her helmet as well, levitating the item just above her as she grumbled. "Aw, mare... Sparks is never gonna let me hear the end of this."

The Corporal Bound sat in the driving-seat, her hind hoof on the pedal for stopping, and spoke down to her junior soldier while leaning on a lever. "Don't exaggerate, Glamerspear. You know Sparkshower's not the kind to boast."

The unicorn grumbled again. "Yeah, okay... But I won't be able to live it down, either. A decorated anti-air unicorn getting dodged out by a pegasus riding a fancy rod now, and almost losing to Kilfeather two weeks ago. It isn't right."

Honour smiled. "Guess you'll just have to up your game, then."

Stopping, the unicorn threw her forehooves up. "With what?! I can't chuck spears that fast! And she maneuvered well enough to avoid my attempt to box her in with shots, too."

The Engineer Royal, who until now was bent over the underside controls around his wondrous 'engine of steam,’ stood up and nodded to Honour. "Okay, Corporal, it's shut down."

Then he turned to face up at the sky, waving both of his arms back and forth at the Specialist Sparkshower. "SPARKSHOWER, COME DOWN, WE'RE ALL DONE!"

‘By the Mother, what a tremendous voice!’

The batpony’s ears instinctively flattened against her head, as did also the ears of the Corporal Bound and the Specialist Glamerspear. Up in the sky, Ebonshield saw the Specialist Sparkshower in her bronze armor descending towards the earth.

‘Loud, but certainly effective.’

Lowering his arms, the Engineer Royal turned to face Ebonshield as she arrived at the carriage. "Sergeant Ebonshield, I hope you enjoyed the performance just now."

Coming to a stop, she bowed with respect. "Yes, Great Lord. Your vehicle is most impressive."

He nodded. "You were paying attention the whole time, I hope?"

Rising from her first bow, she repeated the movement once again. "Sí, of course, Great Lord. And also the previous time, when we were interrupted by the Lieutenant Violetta."

"Good. Because I think I've got a favor to ask of you..."

‘Oh?’

"... But let's wait for everybody to get settled first."

‘Ah.’

"Certainly, Great Lord."

The Corporal Bound dismounted the carriage with a short leap, while the Specialist Glamerspear conjured for herself a small staircase to descend. There was a fluttering of feathered wings, and then a clattering of metal as the Specialist Sparkshower arrived as well, clutching her magical weapon in the collapsed form.

"Wooo! I told you that you wouldn't be able to hit the wielder of the 'Bradamante Lance,’ Lily!"

The unicorn frowned and bit her lip as the pegasus carried on, smiling and happy but also out of breath. "I've got to look Bradamante Growler up in the archives later! With this lance, she must have been BUCKING INVINCIBLE!"

The Corporal Bound cleared her throat. "Ahem. At ease, Sparkshower."

And the pegasus suddenly remembered that she was a soldier in the presence of a Great Lord, whom she was sworn to serve. Instantly, she snapped to attention and raised up the visor of her helmet. "OH! Sorry, sir!"

Anonymous merely chuckled. "It's all right. I suppose I'd be pretty enthusiastic, too, if I could rocket around like that."

The batpony heard Glamerspear grumble once more, but the Great Lord merely wiped his hands and regarded the four of them, sitting in a half-circle before him.

"Let's have a quick debriefing first. How do we feel about everything so far? Corporal? How do you like the new pedals?"

The earth pony nodded her head. "Much easier to use than the valves, sir."

The Engineer Royal tilted his head. "Do you feel comfortable in the driver's seat? Ready to give a performance for Her Majesty and the General Staff?"

Ebonshield could see Honour swallow with nervousness.

"Around this track, and on a calm, dry day like today -- yes, sir, I'm ready."

‘She is too humble!’

‘And perhaps also too fearful.’

She had seen the corporal drive with skill, and heard of how she navigated the roads busy and full yesterday as well.

Anonymous nodded. "Good. How about you, Specialist Glamerspear? Disregarding the part where Sparkshower opened up the taps on her little rocket-ship, I mean -- that was just for fun; we won't be including it in the real demonstration."

With yet another small grumble, the unicorn also nodded. "I'm ready, sir. I was hitting her most of the time before she went to warp speed, ya know."

The human pointed a black-bronze-armored finger at Glamerspear. "How do you feel about your seat? Do you feel you can focus on your gunnery without worrying too much about the motion of the carriage? Ideally, I'd want to get you strapped into some kind of a swivel chair, but I'm not sure how easy that will be to do."

The unicorn looked around, her head swaying slightly. "I think a swivel chair would help, sir, but I managed. To be honest, after going around Her Majesty's Royal Eastern Cottage racetrack's three left turns umpteen-hundred times each, it feels like the whole world is still trying to turn right."

Anonymous nodded. "Understood; I'm feeling a little dizzy myself, and I wasn't looking up at the sky the whole time as you were. The real demonstration won't be nearly so long."

Extending a hand towards the final member of the performance troupe, he continued. "And you, Specialist Sparkshower? You're holding up well under Glamerspear's barrage?"

The armored pegasus nodded with enthusiasm. "Oh, yes, I'm doing just fine, sir! The practice rounds don't hurt at all!"

Ebonshield saw the Specialist Glamerspear scrunch her snout up a little more, as if this were an insult against the abilities of which she was so proud.

"Okay, good. So now here's where things get complicated."

Their VIP had the full attention of his quaternion.

"When we next practice this, and when we perform it live for an audience, I can't sit in the commander's chair, directing things."

He lifted up a finger. "The whole point of this demonstration is to get the audience excited about the power of industry -- to get them excited about steam power, and steel, and electricity, and all the things I wrote about in my book. And although I personally think it's a good show on its own, it needs a narrator and a 'Master of Ceremonies' to pump up the audience and make it clear why they should be interested in it."

That same finger turned to point at his chest. "And that MC has to be me. Which means somepony else has to be in command of making sure everything goes well -- inside the vehicle, and out."

The Corporal Bound raised a forehoof in salute. "Sir, I'm more than--"

Instantly, Anonymous waved her off. "No, Corporal. I know it's a track with only three turns, but believe me when I say that from the experience of my world, it's a terrible idea to multitask driving with anything else, even on a simple route like this and for a relatively simple job."

He gestured at the carriage behind him. "The worst thing that could happen is that you crash the carriage. It doesn't matter if Glamerspear actually hits Sparkshower, or if Sparkshower flies in an unrealistically simple pattern. Their interaction isn't the point of the show, though it certainly helps and should impress soldiers like Major General Hoofstrong. Tell me -- how many ponies would you need to pull a carriage like this, with Specialist Glamerspear sitting on top of it, around for an hour or two on a battlefield?"

The brown earth pony furrowed her brow and thought for a moment, then answered. "Four at the very least. Maybe even six, since they'd get tired otherwise. Plus you'd still need somepony to command them."

Anonymous nodded. "And they'd also have to be well-trained to trot all in unison in order to make the turns that this carriage can make, wouldn't they?"

Honour nodded, so he continued. "That's the point of the demonstration. Yes, it takes time to build a machine like this, but once it's built -- suddenly you need six less ponies, because you have a machine that doesn't get tired and doesn't need as much physical coordination."

Smiling, he gestured with enthusiasm. "Six less ponies who can be doing something else more useful -- like piloting more of these vehicles, armed with crossbows or unicorns of their own. Automation is a force multiplier, whether it's on a battlefield or on a farm or in a factory. That's what I need to drive home during the demonstration."

Calming himself, he extended his hands towards the two Specialists. "And even though your aerobatics, Specialist Sparkshower, and your gunnery, Specialist Glamerspear, are really only the sideshow, they're still an impressive piece of the whole demonstration, so they need to be coordinated for maximum effect."

Then Ebonshield’s VIP pointed at her. "That's why Sergeant Ebonshield will have to take my place on the carriage as commander."

Instantly, three voices burst out in unison.

"She will?"
"She will?"
"She will?"

Four sets of eyes looked at the batpony, so she bowed graciously. "If the Great Lord wishes it, it shall be done." When she raised her head again, Ebonshield saw expressions ranging from confidence, to surprise, to confusion, to concern.

The wise earth pony with the concerned, brown eyes was the one to speak first. "Sir, with respect to Sergeant Ebonshield, you're the only one who understands what you've built here. Ordering around Sparkshower and Glamerspear, I can understand, but if anything goes wrong with the controls or the machine itself--"

Anonymous interrupted her. "If anything goes wrong, you stop the vehicle, that's all. A halt is better than a disaster. You know where the brakes and the main power valve are, Corporal. Keep your hooves on the tiller and ask Ebonshield to shut off the power if the pedals don't respond; we'll show her how at the next practice session. She's in charge of coordinating the demonstration, but you're responsible for the carriage itself."

Ebonshield’s VIP faced her. "Sergeant, you've seen what Corporal Bound, and the carriage, and Sparkshower and Glamerspear can do. All you really need to do is to watch for my directions, to act as Glamerspear's spotter and direct her fire, and send signals up to Sparkshower to ensure she flies in the right pattern. Like a conductor of an orchestra -- or an officer in the military."

He lifted his eyebrows. "You said you were the second from the top rank in your school of the 'Shining Stellar Dance.' Surely that means you've been in command of other 'dancers' before, haven't you? You must work together sometimes on larger operations, right?"

The batpony bowed slightly. "We do work in groups on occasion, Great Lord, and I have been in command of such groups."

He returned to face the Corporal Bound. "So, there you go. We'll have a practice or two with her in the command chair before the big show. Any other concerns?"

The Specialist Glamerspear scoffed. "Yeah, I've got one. I mean, I know we've already trotted all around Canterlot, and all the way to Newcastle, with the Sergeant in tow but, uh..." She laughed awkwardly, looking at Ebonshield. "...Heh, but she's still a batpony, sir. And there's gonna be ponies at your demo who'll still be subject to Don't-Ask-Don't-Tell, won't there? You asked Hoofstrong to invite anypony else she wanted, after all."

At this, the Engineer Royal frowned. "Hmmm. You're right. I hadn't thought of that. Do you think it'll really be a problem? Nobody's seemed particularly shocked to see her so far."

Glamerspear spread her forehooves wide. "That's 'cause we've been to, like, high-end stores and stuff, sir. Even if anypony was shocked, they'd be too polite to say anything. But this'll be different."

Ebonshield extended a conciliatory forehoof. "Fear not, Great Lord. If it is required that I do not appear as one of the Children, then I shall appear otherwise."

Seeing confusion in the face of her master and her comrades, she continued. "To hide plainly in the sight of the enemy is one of the arts of the Shining Stellar Dance. I will costume myself so that your audience shall never know my true nature."

There was a moment’s pause, but eventually the Engineer Royal nodded in agreement. "OK, you'll put on a disguise. It shouldn't be too hard, I suppose -- I won't have you come up and speak to the audience, and you'll mostly be at a distance, so whatever you do won't have to hold up to the closest scrutiny, though some of the guests may bring binoculars or the like. I imagine Lieutenant Violetta can get you a suit of Royal Guard armor; I'll trust you'll take care of the details."

Ebonshield bowed again. "I will not disappoint you, Great Lord."

To her left, the Specialist Glamerspear had raised a forehoof as if in anticipation. Anonymous pointed at her. "Specialist, what now?"

The unicorn lowered her hoof only to point at the carriage. "Just one more question, sir -- what are we calling this thing?"

Everypony turned to look at the vehicle in question, and she continued. "I mean, I know you said we're supposed to be a Self-Propelled Air Defence system, but that doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, if you know what I mean."

As the Engineer Royal turned back to Glamerspear, she shrugged. "Plus, I mean, it just looks like an ordinary dog-cart carriage right now. Can't we, like, paint it or put some shiny armor on it or something? Chances are, you're gonna be addressing a crowd of nobleponies with memories of the grandest event in all Equestria still fresh in their minds."

This was true that the appearance and name of a thing could have a great impact. The Rocks knew this all too well; even the Stars used intimidating names and bold dress when appropriate. What was a Star's black cloak but a tool to cow their enemies?

The Engineer Royal puffed out his cheeks. "Well... I did think about slapping some armor on it, but I think it'd have to be just a few planks of wood; I don't trust this suspension to handle anything too heavy. I guess we could paint those up in some kind of military colors. As for a name, I don't know. 'SPAD' is the type of vehicle it is, but in my world, particular models of vehicles -- military or civilian -- were named for all sorts of things: people, places, mythological figures..."

He put one hand up to his chin. "...I suppose in its current state it's really a sort of war-chariot -- with Corporal Bound as the driver, you as the archer, and myself as the shield-bearer and commander. Did Equestria ever use war-chariots? Maybe there's a famous one with some name we could borrow."

Nopony had any answer, and neither did Ebonshield. The Children, who fly, and fight only rarely on the surface itself, had certainly never used such things.

The Specialist Glamerspear shrugged. "If we did, ages ago, they'd probably be depicted in the Champions' Hall -- along with that linen armour Gunther Bronzehorn gave you for underwear but claimed ancient Equestrians used all the time in battle."

Sparkshower shook her head also. "The only chariot I can think of is the one Epona Iomaghaoth pulls, and I don't know if it's supposed to have a name."

This person was not familiar to the batpony.

Anonymous spoke up. "Epona Iomaghaoth? Who's that?"

The pegasus expressed surprise. "Oh? You never learned about -- Oh, of course. Sorry, sir..."

She laughed awkwardly. "...You fit in so well that it's easy to forget that you're not from around here."

With a gentle smile, she continued. "Epona Iomaghaoth is the First Pegasus, in the legends of the pegasi. It's said that she pulls a great chariot tethered to the sky, and in so doing creates the winds and the weather. Pegasi across the world serve in her image by moving individual clouds around as well."

The Engineer Royal nodded appreciatively. "Interesting. Maybe we can reference it somehow? Care to tell the tale?"

Sparkshower took a deep breath. "I can tell it, sure. The legend goes that the Mother of Creation, Llamrei, had already made the world and the heavens and all of the creatures in it, and finally needed to manage the sky, whose thousand cords were lashed to a single great, blue chariot."

The pegasus extended one wing to the right. "First, Llamrei harnessed a dragon to the Azure Chariot, believing that strength was what mattered to pull such a heavy load, but the dragon was lazy and irritable, so half the time, when it rested, the world was scorched from lack of rain, and the other half, when it was angry, the world was flooded and wracked by terrifying hurricanes, with scarcely any middle ground."

Closing that wing, she extends her left wing. "Thinking that it was a mistake to choose such a great beast, Llamrei instead harnessed a gust of breezies. They pulled the chariot slowly, but steadily, and were able to bring some rain as needed, but they didn't have enough power for real speed and real wind, so the trees complained that their leaves stayed on in the autumn, while the plants complained that their seeds would never be sown."

She closed both wings. "Llamrei then harnessed a hive of flash bees, but magic of their stingers caused thunder and lightning to follow behind them, and the creatures of the world complained to Llamrei that they were always afraid of being struck."

She shrugged. "Llamrei hitched up a roc next, mighty and steady, but since they can fly almost endlessly without becoming tired, the bees complained that on account of the constant winds they could never land on flowers, while spiders complained that they could never rest in their webs."

With a frustrated look on her face, she cleared her throat. "...There's... a lot of other races Llamrei tried, too. I don't remember all of them. Whoever's telling the story usually comes up with flying creature after flying creature and a reason why they weren't quite right. Anyways, what happens in the end is that after trying it with every other winged creature in the world, Llamrei finally decides that a new species must be made in order to pull the chariot of the sky -- one that will bring the rain and the wind and even the thunder, but in just the right amount."

Turning her chin up proudly, Sparkshower finished her tale. "And so, Llamrei created Epona, the first pegasus, and when Epona pulled the chariot across the sky for an entire day, and then an entire month, and then an entire season, and then an entire year -- without any of the other creatures complaining that the weather was completely unsuitable, Llamrei dubbed her 'Epona an Iomaghaoth,' Epona the Whirlwind. With that final creature tending to the sky, the world was complete, and at last Llamrei could rest."

This was a curious thing, to think that the Equestrian ponies have only legends of their beginnings, while the origin of the Children could not be more clear. Though this was also true that, technically, the Equestrians of a thousand years ago were also the ancestors of the Children of the Stars. In a sense, this legend of the pegasi was also Ebonshield’s history as well.

Before the batpony could reflect further, the Engineer Royal clapped his hands. "How about 'Whirlwind'? As a name for the vehicle." He looked into the faces of each of his four guards -- Ebonshield included -- and saw no objections.

The Specialist Glamerspear nodded. "I like it, sir. Gives the impression of blowing things right out of the sky."

Sparkshower nodded also. "Yes, that's true! And I'm sure any pegasi present will get the connection immediately. Especially if we decorate it with Epona's triskelion -- it's three pegasus wings, in a circle."

Glamerspear looked around the group. "Anypony good at painting? Or know somepony good at it?"

There were only shrugs and shaking heads all around.

Ebonshield spoke up. "I have no skill with the brush..." Then she nodded sideways, remembering last night's activities. "...Although, I have been considering engaging the services of the Rocks for some painting of my own. There are several gifted artists in the Rookery. Perhaps we could investigate this further tonight, before or after the sparring?"

The Engineer Royal nodded. "Sure. I'll measure out the boards we'll use to make an 'armored box' around the upper carriage so we have an idea of how big the canvas will be."

Clapping his hands together, he smiled. "Whirlwind! All right, now I'm really excited for tonight. Let's put the carriage back in the garage, have lunch, and then get some rest before heading to the Rookery."

Everypony nodded in agreement, and while Anonymous busied himself re-lighting the engine, they all mounted the vehicle in their own ways. Moments later, the machine 'pffsht-pffsht-pffsht'ed to life, and their VIP climbed up as well, then turned in his seat to look back at Ebonshield.

"By the way, Sergeant, if you don't mind me asking -- what were you going to have painted yourself?"

She smiled awkwardly, a little embarrassed. "Oh, it is nothing, Great Lord. Some small figurines used in a game that I am playing with my paramour. It is called 'Hyperspace Hyperwars,' and they represent warriors."

There was a groan from the Specialist Glamerspear beside her, but Anonymous did not seem to notice. "Ah, I see. Hmm, painted figurines of soldiers? We had games like that on my world... Wouldn't mind seeing that game, when we have a little more time."

A second groan, more pained this time, was emitted from the unicorn.

This was ignored also.

"I am sure that my Gilberto would be more than pleased to present to the Engineer Royal the details of the game. I could not yet claim myself sufficiently experienced to introduce such play to somepony else."

Anonymous nodded. "Sometime later, sure. Let's start with the real combat first."

Turning back to the Corporal Bound, he pointed the way ahead. "Okay, Corporal, take us back to the garage."

The earth pony seized the tiller and placed her hind hooves on the pedals. "Yes, sir."

‘Ah!’

‘How interesting the coming days will be.’

Ebonshield must find a painter, teach her VIP the art of combat, learn to command his 'Whirlwind'... And to steal for herself an item particular not from the unwatched pantry of the Palace of Canterlot, but instead from the well-guarded armory of the Children of the Stars. After all, her VIP deserved only the best from her, and she must not disappoint him.

When she performed for the audience of Her Majesty the Princess of the Sun herself, with the aid of that item particular, perhaps even She would be deceived, and see sitting in the 'Whirlwind' only three of Her Little Ponies!

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Suggested reading: Flakpanzer IV 'Wirbelwind'

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