Artemis Sparkshower

---

‘Huh.. wha..?’

The cream colored pegasus was lying sideways on what Specialist Artemis Sparkshower -- that’s who she was, right? -- was hazily presuming to be the drill yard's well-worn turf. Everything was a blur, except for the memory of a deafening noise, a sudden jerk of movement, and then seeing sky-ground-sky-ground-sky-ground-sky-GROUND. That last one being accompanied by a spray of earth and another forceful blow.

CLONK-CLONGGGGGgg

Somewhere off in the distance, it sounded like a metal flagpole just toppled over.

"SPARKSHOWER! SPARKSHOWER, ARE YOU OKAY?!"

"SPARKS!! HOLY BUCK! PONE DOWN! MEDIC!! MEDIIIIIC!"

There were familiar voices off in another direction, but all Artemis could think about was when she was going to take her next breath. Something earthy and grassy seemed to be impeding her ability to breathe. Involuntarily, she convulsed in a cough, and a mouthful of dirt and grass came out.

‘Oh, that'll be wh-’

Before she could think another thought, her lungs, aching for air, started Artemis furiously retching and choking.

"COUGH HURH KUH KUHUHUHHHR huuuuuu-haaaaa huuuuu-haaaaa huuu-haaa"

Regaining her breath, she scraped together enough concentration to bring a hoof up to her muzzle to clear away some of the muck that was encasing her face.

"Sparkshower! Sparkshower! Talk to me!"

As the haze lifted from Artemis’ eyes and she spat out the last bits of earth from her mouth, she managed to turn her head slightly to see Corporal Bound standing over her, a worried look on her face.

"Uhnn... Hello, Corporal."

Before answering her, Honour hollered back over her shoulder in the direction where Lily was still calling for help. "She's conscious! Glamerspear, get over here!"

The corporal looked down at the pegasus. "... Are you hurt? Can you see? I can't believe your helmet's still in one piece after that landing."

Scrunching up her snout, Artemis shut her eyes and brushed a hoof around again to sweep more dirt away. There was the sound of galloping hooves nearby.

"I... I think I'm okay. What happened?"

Glamerspear's face appeared in her line of sight. "What happened? What happened was you took off like a buckin' firecracker! And I guess you weren't holding on too tight either, 'cause about a half-second later you let go and slammed into the ground!"

Artemis flexed her legs and rolled over -- slowly -- onto her front. Honour leaned down and put a hoof to her foreleg’s shoulder "Take it easy there, Sparkshower. That thing launched you halfway across the drill field. You might've broken something."

"I think I'm okay. Nothing really hurts."

Honour did not appear convinced by her statement, but Artemis struggled to her hooves anyways, flexing her wings as she went.

Glamerspear broke into a big smile when she saw her stand up, apparently unharmed. "Sweet Celestia of Equestria, Sparks! If you'd shot off into the sky instead of hugging -- and then slamming into -- the ground, all of Canterlot would've thought the Gala was starting a week early. What'd you do, put all your weight in that hoof-sling? You've gotta take it easy your first time, filly."

Now that Artemis was upright and no longer eating dirt, she did start to recall some of the details. And, yes, she did remember being perhaps a bit heavy on that one hoof.

"I guess I might've stepped in it too hard, but... who knows if it even has multiple speeds, like the Royal Engineer's automobile? Maybe it only has 'go'?"

Lily grinned and laughed. "Well, if you actually manage to hold onto it next time you make it 'go,' then we're gonna have to come up with a new MOS code for you." Rearing up on her hind hooves, she spread her forehooves wide. "So long, Specialist Sparks, Armored Scout -- Hello, Specialist Sparks-ter, Rocket Knight!"

Honour stepped up and looked the pegasus in the eyes. "That was a pretty big hit you took just now. Don't push yourself too hard; we can test your new toy some other time."

‘Absolutely not!’

Artemis was determined to figure out the 'Bradamante Lance' that evening. "I'm okay, Corporal. I want to try it again... Where did it land, actually?"

Glam jerked a forehoof in the direction where she'd heard the 'flagpole' fall over. Clearly, that was the lance itself, crashing back to the ground.

"As soon as you let go, it tipped upwards and flew in the air for a little while longer before falling just at the edge of the berm. I can go and grab it, if you want."

Artemis nodded. "Sure, I'd appreciate that, Lily."

As she trotted off, she shouted back at Sparkshower over her shoulder. "And this next time, I'll have the camera ready, too!"

Artemis looked over at a frowning Corporal Bound. "Am I cleared hot?"

With a grumble, she nodded. "Yeah, okay, you can try it again. But this time, climb to a higher elevation first, so you have enough time to recover under your own wingpower if you have to let go. Angle the lance upwards a little before triggering it, too, so you're not rocketing straight into the ground. And lower your visor this time, if you don't want another face-full of dirt."

She turned her head and looked around the drill grounds. "Keep the first flight short; release the hoofrest as soon as you're comfortable doing so. Try to stay within the bounds of the practice area if you can, though I guess it'll be pretty difficult if that thing can sustain its speed for any length of time. Stick to the barracks boundaries at the very least -- we don't want to be raining Royal Guards or pointy heirloom Theolonicus weapons down over the civilian areas of the palace or city."

Artemis jumped to attention and nodded at her respectfully. "Yes, Corporal!"

Honour rolled her eyes. "And knock that off. I want you paying attention and being careful, not sticking to protocol for protocol's sake. Launch that 'Bradamante Growler' lance -- with or without you attached -- at anypony who isn't wearing heavy armour, and I doubt they'll be getting back up again." She gave Artemis a final stern look as Glamerspear came trotting back over, with both her camera and the lance in her telekinetic grasp. "All I'm asking is that you treat that thing with the respect that a very dangerous and lethal weapon deserves."

The pegasus specialist nodded. "I will. Captain Goldenfoil did say that it had a 'temper'... I can't imagine what would've happened if I'd tried to use it indoors."

"Canterlot Palace would've had a buncha new hallways drilled into it, that's what!" Glamerspear smirked as she lowered the lance in front of Artemis. "And I don't think Their Majesties would've been too pleased about you turning their palace into a block of Einsiedler cheese, either, ha!"

Artemis looked at the Little Ludwig camera in Lily’s grip. "Let me get things set up for the photograph first?"

"Sure thing. You gonna pose before taking off, too?"

Sitting on her haunches, Artemis shook her head as Lily lowered the camera into her forehooves. "No, let's do the portraits another day. My armor's all muddy from the failed test-firing, now. I'll set the camera for you to take a few 'action' photos."

Thinking on it, she should have brought one of her telephoto lenses in addition to the portrait 35mm, but it'll do if she could stay within the boundaries of the drill field. It was late afternoon, but there was still quite a lot of sun, so she set the focus to infinity, aperture to f/4, and shutter speed to 1/500th of a second. That should be fast enough to capture a good snapshot of the lance -- and herself -- in motion.

Artemis hoofed the camera back to Lily. "Okay, here. Hold off if a cloud casts me in shadow, if I'm too small in the viewfinder, or when I'm closer than twenty hooves -- the photo will be either too dark or too blurry. Otherwise, it should be fine. There's a full roll of twenty-four shots in there; go ahead and use them all if you can."

Glamerspear nodded and telekinetically lifted the camera viewfinder up to her muzzle. "Sure thing, Sparks! I'll getcha, don't worry!"

As the pegasus picked up the lance, Honour tapped Glamerspear on the shoulder with a forehoof. "Come on, paparazzo, let's get behind the commander's podium before this rocket blasts off again."

Artemis lowered her visor and took to the air while her comrades sought cover below. It was a bit of a struggle -- the 'Bradamante Lance' really was heavy. And this from somepony who flew around in thick plate armor nearly all the time!

‘Hmmm... it'd be a lot easier to climb to a safe altitude if I used the lance itself to propel me upwards…’

Something to try later, lest she earn Corporal Bound's ire.

Eventually, Artemis reached what she considered to be a safe height, and Honour and Lily reached the relative safety of the sturdily-constructed wooden platform. Angling the weapon generously well above the horizon, Artemis lifted her right hind hoof off of the crossbar hoofrest and placed it just above the activation stirrup.

‘Here goes attempt number two -- may Bradamante Growler guide me in using her weapon!’

Artemis gently flexed her right hind leg back.

There was an audible CLICK from inside the pole, and then-

FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSHHHHH

---

Recommended video: S-400 'Triumf' [NATO reporting name: SA-21 'Growler'] anti-aircraft missile launch - skip to 1:10
https://youtu.be/NE-jW5Hg-pw?t=69

---

‘Holy Coriolis, Mother of Hurricanes!’

The deafening noise, the tremendous power, and the incredible rush of wind! Her wings were pressed tightly against her flanks from the force, and it was a real struggle just to keep her hooves in place. The hind hoof-rest 'cross-guard' now made perfect sense -- not just as a way of expanding the weapon, but it was an essential requirement for riding while the 'Bradamante Lance' was thrusting forward. And the strange cross-foreguard was clearly not intended to help in holding the weapon, but again a necessary aid for simply holding on.

Artemis looked down, and realized she’d not just completely cleared the drilling ground, but was almost at the edge of the barracks complex itself. Bracing for the sudden deceleration, she lifted her hoof out of the stirrup.

TSSSSSSsssssssss

An angry hiss accompanied the abrupt slowdown, and the front-heavy lance immediately tipped downwards -- with Artemis attached to it. She spread her wings to arrest the descent, then stopped to hover in place.

‘Incredible!’

Flying from the drill grounds to here would have taken her almost a full minute even without her heavy armor on. This thing flew her there, fully suited up, in a matter of a few seconds! How quickly could it take her all the way to the other side of the Canterlot Palace Barracks?

Only one way to find out...

Aiming herself above the horizon at the opposite side of the barracks grounds, Artemis moved her right hindhoof just above the stirrup again. She’d really have to be quick on the release this next time, because while on her present side of the complex there was just another one of the palace's innumerable gardens -- Her Majesty's Tulip and Daffodil Nursery -- the other side of the barracks abutted the Palace itself. And Artemis definitely didn’t want to be making a hole in Their Majesties' official residence.

Tilting the lance up even higher than before, so that if she did release late, at least she’d clear the first few low buildings, Artemis braced herself and applied hoof to stirrup once more.

KURR-FFWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSHHHHHH

---

Suggested background music: Yoko Kanno - 'Fly up in the air' [excerpt], from 'Macross Plus' [1995]: http://recochoku.jp/song/S20237268/

Alternative full length soundtrack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2LQCGinySc

---

On her third trip, the terror started to diminish, and Artemis found herself wearing a smile on her face. Not that anypony could see it, with her visor down, but it was there.

‘This thing is incredible!’

Lady Major Amberline Growler really had given Artemis a wondrous gift. A fine example of Anthony Theolonicus' unparallelled abilities as a master armorer!

And Bradamante Growler, the original purchaser and owner? Why, she must have been a ferocious warrior if she managed to make good use of it! Artemis felt privileged to merely touch her lance. ‘And now it's mine!’

Artemis’ to keep, if she wanted it, though she imagined that Lady Growler would probably expect some favors in the future. But until then, the Bradamante Lance was propelling her across the sky so fast that even the Royal Guard's Wonderbolts stunt racing team might have trouble keeping up. Just another five seconds, and she’d let go to stop short of the palace proper...

TSSSSSsssssssssss

‘Wait, what?’

Although she still had her hoof solidly in the stirrup, the weapon's thrust started to taper off. Reflexively, she spread her wings to arrest the fall, as she looked down at the weapon couched under her body.

Was that all the lance had to give before it ran out?

Twenty or so seconds of thrust?

It was twenty ferociously fast seconds, to be sure, but it didn't seem like a whole lot. Artemis wouldn't be crossing Equestria with just the 'Bradamante Lance' alone, that was for certain. Still, though, it would be enough for one heck of a combat charge. Or a great emergency tactical withdrawal, too!

‘Hmmm…’

‘But how am I supposed to know when the Lance is ready to-’

CLICK

KURR-FFWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSHHHHHH

‘Buck!’

Jerking her hoof off the stirrup, Artemis struggled to keep her wings open just enough to serve as control surfaces, rolling over to one side to pull away from a violet-painted bulbous onion-dome -- Canterlot Palace's Royal Library.

TSSSSSsssssssssss

Not ideal to be making big noises just outside of what was supposed to be a place for quiet study! Artemis decided to proceed away from it under her own power for a little bit before engaging the 'Bradamante Lance' once again.

CLICK-AHHhhh

That noise was probably to let her know the Lance was fully charged again.

Hmm, she had managed to open her wings for a little bit while the thing was running. It must be possible to perform some course corrections while it was in powered flight. Maybe if she only opened her wings a tiny bit, leaving them swept back, she could have just enough surface to aim herself properly. It was a theory worth testing out -- and now that she was well clear of Her Majesty's book repository, she aimed to do exactly that!

KURR-FFWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSHHHHHH

‘Yes!’

It was incredibly tough to do, but with a little effort Artemis could climb, dive, and even roll over to bank! Nopony would be confusing her for a member of the supremely agile First Air Wing, but with speed like this, who cares? By the time her target heard the ear-splitting howl of the 'Bradamante Lance,' it would be too late -- she’d be on them already.

As Artemis came up on the drill field, she released the stirrup, to the now-familiar TSSSSSsssssssssss noise, and prepared to line up for a run on one of the larger, elevated hay-bale bull's-eyes. Hitting things in the air was all good and well, but there were always going to be targets on the ground, too!

Heck, Honour could chuck javelins up high if she wanted to, as well! And even Glamerspear could hurl her anti-aircraft spears at enemies on land!

Artemis spotted the unicorn in question snapping photos of her as she flew over, diving down low, and then stopping to hover at a comfortable twenty hooves above ground.

CLICK-AHhhh

Perfect; she’d be able to give it everything the Lance had to give. Gonna have to mind the shock when she slammed into the target. The only question was, should she lift off the stirrup before impact, or ride it straight through like a hammerhead? She’d definitely have to pull off immediately afterwards, lest she crash into the berm fifty hooves behind it.

Well, there was nopony there but her quaternion, and nothing behind the berm but another two hundred hooves of open field with nopony else there either. Heck, the barracks building opposite the field was probably half empty, according to Glamerspear, with most of the garrison away on weekend liberty. And Artemis wasn’t injured, and she was wearing her armor.

When else would she be able to push it to the limit like this?

With a grin of glee on her armored face, Artemis slammed her right hind hoof into the stirrup.

KURR-FFWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSHHHHHH

Squinting her eyes against the strands of hay she was worried would poke through her visor's slits, she made only the slightest of corrections to stay on course. The big round target went from a small far-away circle to a huge disc in almost no time flat, and Artemis doubted if she even could have lifted off in time to avoid it.

She barely felt the contact, as the light straw objective neatly split in two, one half brushed aside by the large forward guard, and the other by her own shoulder armor. Releasing the stirrup to a satisfying hiss, Artemis unfolded her wings wide, making use of the forward momentum to launch herself up high, then rolling off at the top to come around and glide back towards the commander's podium.

Lily and Honour stepped up out of their cover when they saw her coming around to land.

Artemis picked her hind hooves up off the crossbar and tilted the lance up above her head to free her hooves for the ground, but with a neat shrrr-CLACK, the haft automatically retracted itself into the lance-point. That left one forehoof free to lift her visor up so her quaternion-comrades could see just how happy she was.

Glamerspear was all smiles when Artemis landed. "Nice going, Sparks! I think I got a good one or two of that attack run you made!"

She was still breathing heavily from the thrill of it all. "Thanks, Lily. Did you use the whole roll?"

Glam nodded. "Yeah... I'm not so sure about some of the early ones, though. You zoomed by so fast overhead I think all I managed to do is get a blurry speck at the edge of the shot. Sorry."

Artemis shrugged. "That's okay. I can always get more film. And we can always come out again and take some more."

Honour stepped up. "Don't be too sure about that. I'm starting to wonder if we haven't just hurt the Royal Engineer's prospects for talking to Major General Hoofstrong tomorrow with all this loud flying around. At least you stayed entirely within palace grounds and didn't fly too high up; so hopefully nopony from the 1AD's Canterlot Air Patrol noticed. Hopefully nopony calls in to complain about the noise, either..."

She nodded at the Bradamante Lance in Sparkshower's hooves. "...I suppose the fact that it was a gift from Major Growler will help, as will the fact the exercise had nothing to do with the Royal Engineer himself. In any case, it's something to be aware of when you're there with me tomorrow morning, Glamerspear."

Artemis sat down to strap the lance back in its case, and Glamerspear floated the camera over. "Sure thing, Corporal. And here's your Ludwig, Sparks. You gonna send these pictures back home to your folks?"

---

Strongly recommended background music: The New Queen's Hall Orchestra - 'Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis', as featured in 'Master and Commander' [2003]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oS8Sd8amxcU

---

‘My folks?’

It'd been a little while since Artemis had actually written to her parents. She normally saw them often enough, taking her weekend leave back to Berry. Being in the VIP section changed that, though -- no weekend leave meant they hadn't heard from her in over two weeks. Three, actually, since she didn't get the weekend off beforehoof.

A lot had happened.

Artemis had a lot to tell them.

About the Royal Engineer, and about everything else that came with him. Seeing that wonderful musical at the Sardinia theatre, fighting the battle of Newstirrup Bridge, meeting the batpony Ebonshield -- no, that would get censored by the Royal Guard, she’d have to skip over it. Meeting Princess Luna, making the trip to Fort Newcastle-Upon-Mare and placing an order with the minotaur blacksmith Bronzehorn...

The trip under Canterlot Mountain to the Rookery would have to be left out, again due to DADT.

After that, there was experiencing the Royal Engineer's new steam-powered automobile, discovering the Spa Dalecarlia, buying dresses with her new best friend Lily...

And then there was Huckleberry. How was she going to explain Huckleberry? What was she going to tell her parents? Her friends back in Berry? Not that she had a lot of them...

Artemis looked at the lance, running a hoof reverently down the striped tip.

Where would she be now, if it wasn't for Huckleberry?

"You okay down there, Sparks? All that flying around wear you out?" Glamerspear was beside her, still waiting for her to finish so she could trade Artemis her camera for the lance-case.

"I'm all right. Just... thinking."

"'Bout the weapon? It's a real wonder, all right -- and a wonder you didn't hurt yourself trying it out. I guess she wasn't going to dole it out to anyone who didn't wear heavy armor. If you decide to keep it, I'm sure Lady Growler will have some expectations that you'll do her more favours, intentionally or not." She shrugged. "At the very least, I'd expect her to make another push for you to join the Valkyries, probably with the promise of getting one of those magic helmets to go along with the lance."

Artemis remembered looking over all the possibilities when she got her Equestrian Services Vocational Aptitude Battery scores back. There were a lot of offers that she’d had to rule out because of Huck. Including the Valkyries.

Shaking her head, she spoke aloud to nopony in particular. "I couldn't. There was too much travel."

Glamerspear nodded. "Yeah, I guess the Valkyries do travel a lot, what with every other unit needing heavily-armored fliers to play OPFOR for their training exercises."

Turning away from the priceless heirloom that had been so casually given to her by somepony for whom it was merely saddlebag change, Artemis looked off at the setting sun, dumbstruck, muttering aimlessly.

"I did it all for him."

Glamerspear lifted an eyebrow. "Huh? Did it all for-hey!"

Honour had stepped over and elbowed the unicorn in the shoulder, just underneath her armor. "Shut up for a minute, Glamerspear."

Artemis took a deep breath, just watching the sun play among the clouds on its way down to the earth. "With my ESVAB and fitness scores, I could've gone straight into the Valkyries, or any of the armored units... Maybe even the Hussars or the Household Cavalry..." She took another breath. "... But it would've meant being away from him, immediately. Long train rides to Berry making for little time at home, or long flights and I'd arrive too tired for us to enjoy the time. So I went with the First Infantry Division, Fourth Armored Regiment..."

A cloud passed in front of the sun, becoming shadowed and dark, while orange rays splayed out in all directions from behind it.

"... I took the Armored Scout MOS, because the signing bonus would make our down payment on a stable almost anywhere we might've wanted to live."

She sighed, lifting her eyebrows. "And I visited him every weekend, and I fought for him to get a raise at the Strawberries' farm, and I pushed away the bullies in Berry who teased him and called him names, and I tried to help him every way I could... And then I realized maybe Berry was the problem, so I paid for him to visit Canterlot with me, thinking it'd do him good to try another life."

Something was blurring her vision, collecting in her eyes. "When I was promoted, I transferred to the VIP service, figuring it would be the easiest way we could try Canterlot out together. A short service period, with not much travel, and easy liberty off-duty..."

Instinctively, she put one hoof up to her muzzle to wipe the clear fluid away. "... I didn't... I didn't come here to be invited to the Grand Galloping Gala, or to be taken to musical shows, or to learn about secrets under Canterlot mountain, or to have nobleponies lavish gifts on me..."

She found her breathing becoming irregular, erratic. Something dribbled out of her nose, and she tried to sniffle it back up. "... sniff... I did everything for him..."

Her jaw started to quiver. "... And... And now he's gone... And... I'm the one who told him to leave..."

Artemis brought her other forehoof up to her muzzle, as if it would stop the impending flood. But it was like trying to plug a dam that had sprung a leak with just a few stray leaves and twigs.

Inevitably, it burst.

Tears poured out of her eyes and collected in the base of her bascinet-helm and dribbled out the breathing holes whenever she jerked her head forward, falling onto the wooden platform and into the Bradamante Lance's silk-lined box. She felt a pair of forelegs wrap around her torso just underneath her shoulders, and a metal-clad chest scraped against her own.

Corporal Bound held Artemis up, as she bawled her misery out on her shoulder. The Lance, the Spa, the sitting awake in the bed trying not to think about what had happened... she’d thrown every available distraction up like a bulwark against that morning's meeting. None of it could compete with the years of memories that all came pouring in.

After a while, Artemis’ eyes and cheeks drenched, she lifted her head up again and looked into Honour's calm, knowing face. "...Do... Do you think I'll ever see him again?"

She shook her head. "I don't know, Artemis... Do you want to?"

Artemis felt emptied, and she looked away from Honour, off towards the setting sun once more. "I don't know. But... I just don't know what to do without him."

She nodded. "You start by taking it one day at a time, Artemis. One day at a time... until the day when you find yourself again."

Her lips quivering, another flood on the way, Artemis tried to hold it back by swallowing and taking a deep breath. Then she asked the question for which she dreaded to hear the answer.

"...How long will it take?"

Honour blew out, puffing her cheeks, and gently shook her head. "I don't know. But you'll make it."

The pegasus collapsed in tears onto her shoulder again.

Next Chapter: Chapter 96 Estimated time remaining: 17 Hours, 41 Minutes