Artemis Sparkshower

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Lily Glamerspear let out a groan. "Ugh, I hate Monday reveille..."

It was indeed a Monday, and mare alive, could Corporal Bound, Specialist Glamerspear, and Specialist Sparkshower really use the regular kind of shower.

"... And who exactly gave Staff Sergeant the idea that we should do the morning PPT hike in battle armor?"

Returning to their quarters from a break-of-dawn Pony Physical Training hike up Canterlot's winding mountain paths, Glamerspear had been vocally venting her frustration. There was nothing really to be done, though. If sarge says hike up the mountain on hoof and in armor, you hike up the mountain on hoof and in armor. Artemis didn't mind, as long as it wasn't what they did for every reveille.

Breaking from her complaints, Glamerspear made a request. "... Can I go in first? I've got to get ready to go on duty in half an hour."

Nopony objected, so Glamerspear made a break for the washroom. She already had half of her equipment telekinetically pulled off before she even got there. Meanwhile, the Corporal and remaining Specialist headed for their respective bedrooms to pull off their sweaty armor. Sitting in her room, Artemis barely had her greaves and croupiere off when there was a loud knock at the main door.

As Artemis was poking her head out of her own room, she saw Corporal Bound step out into the common area, already fully disrobed.

"Come in!"

At her Corporal’s invitation, the door swung open, but before the unidentified caller stepped in, Artemis heard them speak in a quiet voice. "Wait out here a moment, Sergeant; let me make sure they're presentable."

With that, Lieutenant Temper Violetta strolled in and shut the door behind her.

Sparkshower was the first to make the call. "Attention!"

As she threw her hoof up in a salute, Corporal Bound stopped and did the same.

"At ease, gentlemares. Where's Specialist Glamerspear?"

From the washroom, the hissing noise from the shower stopped. The brief silence was soon replaced by the low 'shuuuu-WOOM!' of Lily executing a WC-40 cleaning & drying maneuver.

Before Lieutenant Violetta could even turn her head toward the bathroom door, Glamerspear was already pushing it open, her armor pieces floating beside her.

"Ugh, and now I've gotta get these clean bef--Attention!" When she realized the Lieutenant was standing in the room, she snapped to her hooves as well.

"At ease, Specialist. All of you, fall in here at the entrance..."

Glamerspear shot Sparkshower a concerned look, but all she could do was shrug her armored shoulders as she fell into line.

Lieutenant Vi wore her usual stern stare as they all formed up into a sort of receiving line next to the door, and she addressed the three of them in an unusually quiet voice. "... Now, gentlemares, I don't want to hear any complaints about this. I'll have you know that these orders come straight from the top; if you don't like them, you can take them up with the Joint Chiefs. Understood?"

To Artemis’ right, Glamerspear looked completely lost. Past her, Corporal Bound's eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly. But both of them stayed silent.

‘Well, if nopony’s going to say anything, then I will.’

"Ma'am? Pardon me, but what are you talking about?"

Violetta fixed Artemis in her stare. "You'll find out in a moment, Specialist. Just know that I don't like it any more than you do, but I have my orders, and now you do too, understood?"

With some hesitation, all three of them gave quiet 'Yes, ma'ams'.

"Good..."

Then she raised her voice loud enough that whoever was outside ought to be able to hear her.

"... Come in, Sergeant."

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Suggested background music: Justin Bell - 'Kyros', from 'Tyranny' [2016]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABl0KW3CI30

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Although they were all supposed to be staring straight forward, none of them could resist watching the door on their right swing inward as it opened.

A shadow seemed to fall over the room, as the light from the hall was drowned out by the pony standing in the doorway.

Glamerspear barely stifled a gasp.

When Artemis realized what she was looking at, there was a clunking noise from in front of her as her jaw dropped open so wide, it smacked into the lower piece of her bascinet helmet. Into their common-room stepped a tall mare with a violet coat so dark it almost looked black. Her pale, two-tone lavender mane was back-combed and brushed upright, standing tall above her head in an almost zebra-esque fashion. Underneath it, two purple eyes with vertical-slit pupils stood out against the shadow, and a pair of leathery wings sat folded against her flanks.

A batpony!

"... Gentlemares, let me present to you the fourth member of Lord Anonymous' bodyguard detail." As the dark creature stepped up in front of their line, Lieutenant Violetta indicated her with a hoof. "... Sergeant First Class Ebonshield... of the Equestrian Night Guard."

There was a long moment while the three of them beheld the Sergeant in silent stillness, and she likewise regarded them, her thin pupils jumping left and right as she looked them over.

At last, the Sergeant stiffened her back and joined the others in parade rest. The three of them likewise held themselves steady.

Seconds passed, until Lieutenant Violetta noisily cleared her throat. "Ahem. Sergeant, let me introduce you to the rest of the quaternion..."

"... Specialist Sparkshower, 19D Armored Scout..."

Artemis started to lift her hoof in order to shake the Sergeant's, but she remained completely still, even as she had it stretched out before her, so she hesitantly lowered it again. Sergeant Ebonshield just stared at her for a few seconds, until Lieutenant Vi decided to continue on.

The Lieutenant pointed at Glamerspear. "... Specialist Glamerspear, 14E Air Defense..."

Glamerspear didn’t make the mistake of trying to shake hooves. But she did have all of her sweaty armor pieces floating in the air just behind her, which earned her a strange look from the new Sergeant.

Finally, Violetta stepped over to Honour. "... And Corporal Bound, 11B Infantry."

This time, Sergeant Ebonshield did something other than stare almost menacingly from a few hooves away. Stepping forward, she got right up in front of Corporal Bound's face before proceeding with an icy stare.

Artemis’ Corporal didn’t seem intimidated even in the slightest, and held steady.

Lieutenant Vi's eyes darted worriedly between the two non-commissioned officers as she continued. "... Corporal Bound, although Sergeant First Class Ebonshield outranks you, you'll be in charge of the quaternion until the Sergeant has completed the VIP Service training program."

Corporal Bound didn’t flinch, answering the lieutenant with the Sergeant's muzzle still almost touching her own. "Yes, ma'am."

Her lack of reaction seemed to amuse the batpony, and there was the hint of a grin as she opened her mouth. "Caporal, are you comfortable with the giving of orders to a superior?"

Sergeant Ebonshield's mature voice was low and dusky, with a steady pitch and a feline purr. There was a strong and unfamiliar accent as well. It was almost Gryphonese in the way that it rolled the 'r's.

"Yes, Sergeant."

“Good. I would not wish for you to feel uncomfortable."

The slurring of the 'y' into a 'j' wasn’t like anything Artemis had ever heard before.

With that, Ebonshield took a step back.

Violetta looked exhausted already. "All right, then, gentlemares, carry on. Sergeant, take a few minutes to stow your gear and make yourself presentable to the Royal Engineer, and then when Glamerspear goes on duty I'll take you downstairs to present you to your charge. Now that there's four of you, I'll have to draw up a new duty calendar."

The Sergeant nodded, and stepped back into the hallway to grab her duffel bag. Nopony lifted a hoof as she dragged it to the last empty bedroom and shut the door behind her.

Corporal Bound shot a telling glance at the Lieutenant, who instantly shut Honour down in a quiet voice. "Don't say a word, Corporal. I heard what you said yesterday about the Royal Engineer needing somepony to guide him through Canterlot society, and I noted it in the request form, but I don't get to pick the soldiers, I just get to command them."

Honour licked her lips. "She hasn't even been trained for VIP service?"

"No, and I was overruled when I made the same objection after seeing her file. Somepony on the night shift must have gone through the personnel-requisition box in the evening and got this taken up to the very top. If you ask me, she's here because the Joint Chiefs are pushing for tighter integration between the two services, and that means 'diversity hire.'"

The Corporal looked like she was about to say something else, but Lieutenant Vi just shook her head. "... Whatever you want to say, save it for later. I'm going to wait in the hallway. Send her and Glamerspear out when they're ready to go downstairs."

As she left the room, Honour grumbled and shook her head, before heading into the washroom to take her shower.

Glamerspear stepped over to the pegasus, telekinetically using a towel to wipe off her armor pieces, and whispered as they both stared at Sergeant Ebonshield's bedroom door. "A batpony! Can you believe this, Sparkshower! They're sticking us with a blood-sucking batpony!"

‘Wait, what?’

"Blood-sucking?"

Her comrade leaned in further and whispered even more loudly. "Don't tell me you haven't heard the stories! I tell you, you'd better wear your criniere to bed if you don't want to wake up with two holes in your neck and blood trail leading back to the new Sergeant's room!"

Artemis had never met a batpony before today, but those old campfire stories couldn't be true, could they? Glamerspear certainly seemed to be treating them as though they were.

"... Come on, didn't you see her fangs?"

Actually, Artemis had pointedly not seen fangs, and she knew that for sure because she’d been looking for them the moment the sergeant opened her mouth.

"She doesn't have fangs, Glamerspear, I saw her teeth."

She just brushed off Artemis’ denial. "Yeah, well, I've heard they're just regular teeth during the day, but at night when it's time for them to feast on pony blood, they grow twice as long!"

Artemis had to admit that sounded spooky, but plausible.

"... And you saw how she didn't want to shake hooves! It's because she didn't want us to notice that hers have the cold touch of the grave!"

That seemed... less likely.

"... Just wait until you hear her shrieking at night; they say it's shrill enough to curdle milk and piercing enough to shatter glass!

Okay, now that was just unreasonable.

"Isn't there a detachment of the Night Guard here in Canterlot? Wouldn't ponies be complaining about that if it were true?"

Having finished wiping off most of her armor, Glamerspear lowered her helmet and strapped it on. "It's because they keep them holed up in the caves all day, since they're all afraid of the sun..."

Artemis scrunched up her face in disbelief.

"... Don't tell me you didn't see her dark coat and pale mane, at least! Well, that's what happens when you spend your life in the darkness, isn't it?"

As Glamerspear continued to suit up, Artemis considered the bundle of old nag's tales Glamerspear was sharing with her. Maybe some of it was true, but surely not all of it.

"... I bet you she's in there right now, staring dumbfounded at her lack of reflection in the dressing-table mirror."

"That's ridiculous, Lily, command wouldn't--"

As soon as she said her first name, Glamerspear hissed her quiet. "Shhhhh! Don't call me that! First names are how they cast their wicked, mind-affecting spells! Are you trying to get me turned into a batspawn zombie?"

Seriously, now, did she believe every single story about batponies that was ever told? Artemis knew them too, but she didn't believe them. Well, some of them, anyways; clearly Glamerspear was familiar with a larger repertoire. But one of those fables was certainly false: they weren't supposed to cast shadows.

"The Sergeant did cast a shadow, though."

"Of course she did! I'm half-surprised the creatures of the night didn't come crawling in with her! Check your bed for creepy-crawlies before bedtime; I know I will."

It looked like there was just no stopping Hurricane Glam right now. Artemis decided she was better off dropping the subject for the moment.

As she finished suiting up, the fourth bedroom door opened and Sergeant Ebonshield emerged. Beside the pegasus, Glamerspear tensed up, but somehow this entrance wasn’t as shocking to Artemis as the first.

The sergeant still cut an imposing figure, especially now that she was armored. A dark black helmet covered her head, with her crested hairstyle emerging through a raised slot above it. Her chest was covered by a dull, black pectoral piece that wrapped around to guard her flanks. It was reminiscent of the light armour of the Air Superiority ponies they’d fought two days ago, but obviously darkened for stealthier use at night. More interestingly, she wore sabots that had paired strips of blackened metal running up the sides of her legs.

‘Are those... blades?’

Artemis would have to find out later, because Ebonshield immediately walked right up to them, her gaze focused on Glamerspear. "Are you ready, Specialist? I do not wish to keep the Great Lord Engineer waiting."

"Yes, Sergeant, I'm ready."

"Then let us be off."

Glamerspear nodded and trotted off towards the door, holding it open for Sergeant Ebonshield. Outside, Artemis could hear Lieutenant Violetta joining them as they all headed downstairs.

Artemis was left alone in the common-room, and there was just one thought on her mind:

When was Corporal Bound going to be done in the shower so she could wash all this sweat-foam off of herself?

Next Chapter: Chapter 22 Estimated time remaining: 33 Hours, 59 Minutes