Artemis Sparkshower

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Suggested background music: Hironobu Kageyama - 'Cha-La Head-Cha-La' [1989]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYnLO7MVKno

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It was training day today!

Training day for Anonymous, that is!

And that meant all four of them got to spend the morning with him!

Doing exercises, showing off their moves, and maybe even sparring!

Specialist Artemis Sparkshower was so excited, she got up extra early to polish and oil her armor. She’d made sure to wash her caparison the night before -- she’d even starched the collar so that she’d be truly 'parade fresh'! But she wasn't foolish -- she went to breakfast bare-backed to make sure she didn't spoil anything on her outfit. After all, the Royal Engineer had brand new sparkling armor from Mister Bronzehorn.

It was special armor, too!

Made with a secret, ancient minotaur recipe!

All cool and black, with spirally designs.

Gosh, what Artemis would give to be decked out in barding that swank. At least she’d get to try her spear against it, though! And it was a freshly-honed and freshly-sharpened spear, at that.

Ooh, she just couldn’t wait to fly away and begin the day!

Just as soon as the rest of the quaternion got up and going, that is!

‘What’s taking them so long?!’

Glamerspear had at least made it out to breakfast with her, though she didn't seem too happy with the way Artemis had forcefully knocked on her door to get to the chow hall nice and early. It paid off, though; almost nopony was there at 6 AM.

‘Instant access to the omelette station, score!’

And Lily got to use the shower before Corporal Bound and Sergeant Ebonshield woke up.

Honour was off getting some breakfast, and should be back any moment, now. She’d gone in her armor, too!

‘Oh, thundershowers -- hopefully she's careful!’

It wouldn't do at all to show up to the secret, special training cave of the batponies with egg on her armor. Literally!

Oooh, what was it going to be like in there? Would it be all dark? Or extra cold? It was a chilly day out today, after all!

Would the batponies all be asleep on the ceiling, or did they have beds just like the sergeant?

Artemis just couldn’t wait to find out!

"Sparks, for buck's sake, if you keep jumping up and down like that, Anonymous is going to think the sky's falling down on his head."

‘Ooh!’ She’d forgotten he was on the ground floor right beneath their room.

"Oops, sorry!"

As Artemis traded her playful bouncing on the ground for an excited bobbing with her shoulders and knees, swishing her tail and tossing her mane, she glanced around their quarters.

The Sergeant's door was still closed, even though she’d trotted out of the shower almost ten minutes ago! How long did it take her to get ready? Artemis could have her heavy plate on in five!

Sitting casually on the sofa beside the eager pegasus and reading a magazine, her comrade Lily Glamerspear was arrayed for battle. Free of the cold iron spellbinders and the lead energy collar cone, she seemed ready for an intense training session. Lily admitted to Artemis over breakfast that she was looking forward to finally popping off a few shots -- even if they were just tracer rounds against target bull's eyes.

As Artemis continued her excited wobbling, Lily gave her a bit of a look, but it was not so dismissive and tired as the pegasus knew it would be if she were really upset. Artemis just smiled back at her, and the unicorn chuckled amiably before shaking her head, grinning.

"A quiet dancer you ain't, Sparks -- not with all that plate on you."

‘Thundershowers!’ Her armor shouldn't be making particularly much noise, not with all the lubricant she’d slathered on its joints. Was one of the straps loose? She immediately sat down and lifted up her caparison to look the gear over.

Glamerspear leaned over and placed a hoof on her shoulder, raising her eyebrows up at Artemis. "There's nothing wrong with your armour, Sparks. Just stop bouncin' off the walls, that's all."

"Oh... Sorry!"

Lily glanced up at the clock. "Take it easy. There's another fifteen minutes before our shift starts. Plenty of time for the elder half of our quaternion to get back or finish getting ready."

The eager pegasus lightly stomped on the carpeted floor, taking care not to disturb her VIP below. "Yeah... I'm just excited, that's all. I want to get to the training and fighting!"

Lily patted Artemis’ shoulder a couple of times, before turning back to her magazine. "Me too, Artemis, me, too. Remember, I've been cooped up almost since last Tuesday!"

The armored pegasus nodded. "I know! But I was actually thinking more about the others."

Glam lifted an eyebrow, and Artemis started bobbing up and down again.

“I want to see how the Royal Engineer fights! I bet he's super strong! And that mace Bronzehorn made for him looks like it can smash things real good!"

Lily scoffed and returned to her magazine. "Sure, sure. I'll believe a fighting hairless monkey when I see it."

‘Rude!’

Well, Artemis knew what would interest her. Leaning over, she ceased her fidgety motions and lowered her voice. "And we'll get to see how the sergeant fights, too.”

Instantly, Artemis once again had her comrade's full attention.

"Don't tell me you aren't interested in that, Lily."

Glamerspear shot her a glare that was half-angry and half-embarrassed, before she relaxed. "Okay, yeah, I am -- I want to see the batpony fight."

With a big smile, the armored specialist resumed her bobbing. "And that's why I'm so excited to get this started!"

Just then, the door opened, and Corporal Bound trotted in. "Get what started?"

Artemis burst out before she was barely inside. "Get the Royal Engineer's combat training started! Are you all ready, Corporal?"

Honour shut the door, then blinked as she looked Artemis’ bouncing form up and down before she sighed. "Specialist, parade rest."

Instantly, Artemis’ eyes went wide and she stiffly assumed the position. "Yes, Corporal!"

Honour exchanged glances with Glamerspear, who just shrugged.

The corporal turned back to Artemis. "I need you to calm yourself down, Specialist Sparkshower. This isn't going to be a walk in the park."

‘It isn't?’

What could be easier than showing off a little and doing some light training with her Very Important Pony? Even if they weren't actually a pony!

Seeing the confusion on her face, Corporal Bound stepped in closer. "We're going into the batpony rookery today, Sparkshower. Do you know how often Royal Guards venture into that part of Canterlot Mountain?" Artemis shook her head, and Honour continued. “Not often. I don't think more than a dozen or two non-batponies can claim to have been inside. We'll certainly be the lowest-ranking Royal Guardsponies going in there since the Night Guard took up quarters."

So? What did that matter?

Weren’t the Night Guard supposed to be their allies, even if their presence was a big, unspoken secret? And Sergeant Ebonshield has been so friendly!

"But, Corporal--"

Anticipating her objection, Honour cut the pegasus off before she could continue. "Don't make the mistake of thinking every batpony is going to be friendly and accommodating like Sergeant Ebonshield has been." She shook her head in Artemis’ face. "She may be the exception. Princess Luna chose her to represent them to us for a reason. You told me how aggressively her brother behaved, and that was out here, in the palace. From what I've heard, the Night Guard don't take kindly to interlopers on their turf -- even if they're allies, even if they've got authorization, even if they're Blue Chamber bigwigs, and even if they've got an escort."

The Corporal took a step back and took her helmet from where she'd left it on the coffee-table, then began strapping it on. "And even the Sergeant may act differently in there. You need to keep your wits about you, and do exactly as Ebonshield tells us, or you could undo everything the Princess has worked for, understand?"

Her enthusiasm considerably dampened, Artemis nodded. "Yes, Corporal."

Honour took a deep breath, looking the specialist’s deflated, bronze-encased form over. "Maybe I'm wrong about this, but I'd still rather have us all be on our guard than to have carelessness turn this into a disaster." She nodded at Lily, on the sofa. "The same goes for you, Glamerspear."

Their unicorn comrade nodded back. "I got you, Corporal. You won't have any outbursts from me."

Honour finished strapping on her helmet and looked around. "Good. Where's the sergeant?"

Artemis pointed at Ebonshield's bedroom door. "Still getting ready, Corporal."

Just then, the same door opened. A figure in a black cloak backed out of the door, whispering something to somepony inside.

"No, no, no -- you can stay as long as you like, mi amore. I must go now, yes? You sleep, chico." Just then, a hooded head reared up and glanced over at the clock on the wall. In a flash of black cloth, it was back down again and poking into the room. "... It is only ten minutes to eight, querido; you have almost an hour."

With a loud sigh, Glamerspear got to her hooves and trotted over to her bedroom door, pushing it open to get something from inside.

Honour took a step towards her own room as well, then stopped to elbow the pegasus specialist in the shoulder. "Go get your key and shut your bedroom door, Sparkshower -- for safety's sake."

‘Oh, right.’

Probably a smart idea to lock up her personal effects with a strange colt being left behind in their quarters.

A few seconds later, and a few keys twisted in locks and placed in pouches, the three of them -- earth pony, unicorn, and pegasus, stood in the shared living room, facing the hooded form of the batpony, Sergeant Ebonshield.

She was attired almost exactly as her brother Marcos had been when he’d visited last week. Her black cloak stretched almost to the floor, completely covering her from her shoulders to her hind fetlocks. The immense hood seemed to swallow up her crest and poll, hanging menacingly over her brow. What little of her wasn’t obscured by the black fabric -- her muzzle, really -- was strapped down with a leather chanfron.

Clearly, this was the formal attire of the Night Guard. But she hadn’t worn it when she was first introduced to them, and Artemis could clearly see why: shrouded in darkness like this, there was almost no telling their dark-purple sergeant apart from her black-coated brother. Only the little lock of indigo-and-lilac mane, pushed down by the hood, and the teeny bit of it poking out from underneath the cloak, could give her away.

The batpony sergeant bowed before the three of them. "I apologize for the unwelcome intrusion into our chambers; if the locking of your doors was not possible, then I would have chased him out."

As Artemis nodded in acknowledgement, the sergeant lifted her head, and she caught a stark glimpse of Eb’s wide, purple eyes.

"Now, are you three prepared to go into the mountain with our VIP, into the rookery of the Night Guard?"

Glamerspear and Artemis glanced down the line to where Honour was standing at the right end. The position of honor, funny enough; the leader of a platoon is always supposed to be at that end.

Her Corporal spoke up for the rest of the quaternion. "Yes, Sergeant."

Ebonshield nodded.

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Suggested background music: Basil Poledouris - "Drive to Jones' Office", from "Robocop" [1987]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dv2TyOj0guE

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"This is not a thing to be done lightly. Before we go, I should like to give a few instructions. Please listen carefully."

Surveying the room to confirm that she had their full attention, Ebonshield continued. "In the rookery, you are not to speak to any of the Children of the Stars -- any of the batponies -- unless given an instruction from me. You may also not speak freely amongst yourselves until I indicate that you are safe to do so. Do you understand?"

The three of them nodded, and the sergeant took a step forward. As her foreleg brushed aside the front of her cloak, Artemis saw that she was wearing one of her strange dagger devices on it, the silvery glint of a blade and a few other pieces of metal catching the morning light, striking a sharp contrast against the shadows of the black leather guard and the straps holding it to her cannon and knee.

"Under the mountain, I am not 'Sergeant Ebonshield,' and you may not address me by my first name. You must address me instead as 'Estelar Ébanoscudo' or 'Estelar Siete,' or simply 'Estelar.' Please let us repeat this now, one by one, for good practice."

She went down the line, starting with Corporal Bound, repeating the three appellations one by one, until Honour spoke them back to her satisfaction.

As Ebonshield continued on with Specialist Glamerspear and Artemis waited her turn, she wondered if the batpony had the same, strange dagger-device on her other legs as well. If so, were they just fancy holsters for daggers to be thrown or wielded in her teeth? And were they all that she had for weapons? She didn't even seem to wear sabots! Just how exactly did she fight?

They were going to find out soon enough...

"Specialist Sparkshower, this is now your turn, please. 'Estelar'."

"Estelar."

"Bueno. 'Estelar Ébanoscudo'."

"Estelar Ébanoscudo."

"Bueno. 'Estelar Siete'."

"Estelar Siete."

"Excellent. You catch on to the pronunciation quickly. Do you speak another language?"

Artemis nodded. "I speak Griffonese, Estelar."

Sergeant Ebonshield licked her lips as she trilled the final letter to her satisfaction. "Good. There are some similarities. This is likely why you can roll the 'r's so well and your comrades cannot."

Taking a step back, she addressed the three of them once more. "Every batpony in the mountain has been trained to speak and understand Equestrian, to varying degrees. Should we become separated for any reason, repeating my rank-name - 'Estelar Ébanoscudo' - or my rank-number, 'Estelar Siete' - should cause us to be reunited without difficulty." She sighed. "I do not expect that we shall become separated, of course. This is merely a precaution."

Honour nodded. "One worth taking."

Ebonshield returned the nod with a short bow. "I am glad that you agree. One more thing -- among the Children, the proper sign of respect is to bow, not to salute. If you see that I bow to anypony under the mountain, then you must bow to them as well, do you understand?"

As they all nodded in acknowledgement, a thought crossed Artemis’ mind. "What about the Royal Engineer? Shouldn't he be told all this as well?"

The ‘Estelar’ glanced in her direction. "I have already given these instructions to our VIP, although I will go over them again for everypony's sake when we reach the entrance. Now, we may go, yes?"

Corporal Bound nodded and moved to take point, but the Sergeant cut her off. "For today, Caporal, I must take point, you understand?"

Honour didn’t look thrilled by it, but she nodded in agreement. "All right."

The cloaked batpony lead the way to the door. "Bueno. Then let us go and fetch our VIP."

Feeling rather considerably more subdued -- though, in truth, no less enthusiastic -- Artemis trotted off behind her black-masked sergeant.

It seemed indeed like Corporal Bound was right; this won't just be a walk in the park.

Next Chapter: Chapter 66 Estimated time remaining: 24 Hours, 56 Minutes