Chapter 6: Training and Rehersal

Luna bade her sister farewell for the time being and she made her way down the castle corridors towards the military wing of the Guard’s quadrant. She strode with conviction and with a prominent grin on her face… today was going to be fun. She walked into a large auditorium where a Guard Colonel was at the front and had an audience of about fifteen guards clad in combat uniforms. Helmuth saw her enter and he flagged her down. She waved back and slid in, taking a seat between him and Windfire, who were obviously also participating in the exercise. She sighed in contentment as she flared her arms out and draped them over her friends’ shoulders. The Colonel acknowledged her and began his lecture.

“Nice of you to join us, Captain,” he stated in a gruff, authoritative but friendly voice.

“Wouldn’t miss these for the world, Colonel,” Luna replied earnestly.

“Very well then. Alrighty ladies and gentlemen, today is a fun day: Combat training… War Games, to be more specific. Today, the sixteen of you are going up against two squads of Royal Marines in a game of Capture the Flag,” the Colonel began. Luna, Helmuth, and Windfire looked at each other and nodded in approval.

“The rules are standard: One round, one hour, two flags: one at each ‘base.’ Capture theirs, defend yours. The flag automatically resets itself after fifteen seconds of idle time outside of its holder. The field is half a mile by a mile and vehicular transportation will be available. Standard munitions will be stun rounds and magic pulses. No serious injury is to occur, but as a precaution, a magical field will be in place at all times to prevent such potential accidents from happening. You succumb to the stun rounds and you get teleported back to your base. Any questions?” The Colonel finished. There were none.

“Very good. Gear up and be in the courtyard in ten. Dismissed.”

Everyone saluted and proceeded to the armory. Luna outfitted herself with a standard navy blue and sky blue camo uniform and combat boots. She secured a belt around her waist and a helmet to her head. The helmet itself allowed for her hair to flow neatly down her back, yet still be contained. Once dressed appropriately, she made her way to a weapons rack. She grabbed a standard Equestrian Assault Rifle and enough ammunition to last her, strapping the weapon on her back. She met up with Helmuth and Windfire, who were all ready to go. The sixteen troops met in the courtyard where the Colonel addressed them one more time.

“Alright, everyone. You’ll be teleported to the field momentarily. Remember, one hour. Show those Marines why we’re the ones who guard the most important icons of our nation,”

“Yes, SIR!” They all replied in unison.

“Very good. Good luck out there!” And with that, they all found themselves in a base. The outside and battlefield was easily visible, with the Marine’s base off in the distance, partially obscured by some hills.

“Luna?” Helmuth asked. Inquiring on orders for them and the rest of the team. She nodded in acknowledgement.

“I want four of you guarding the base at all times. We’ll alternate as necessary. The base has its own supply depot. Grab any equipment that you need. Helmuth, Windfire, you’re on me. The remaining nine of you, split up into a squad of four and five. You’ll advance up the sides and the three of us will take the middle. Understood?” Luna commanded, talking with her hands and gesturing appropriately.

“Yes Ma’am!” They all said in unison. She rolled her eyes.

“I’m Luna, not ma’am. Call me ‘ma’am’ again and I’ll cut your balls off. We clear?” Luna asked. The other troops began laughing and she mustered a grin.

“Very good, now—”

“Incoming troops!” one of the posted guards shouted, alerting everyone. Luna muttered profanity under her breath.

“Dammit. Alright, the offensive will be postponed. Now, here’s what we’re doing…”

Ten minutes had passed already and about eight Royal Marines rode up to the base in their transport carriers. They disembarked; weapons raised, and proceeded to walk towards the entrance.

“Looks like they all snuck out.”

“Don’t be so sure. Let’s get inside, get the flag, and get out. Easy victory.”

The eight marines entered the base and found nobody. Even in the starting common room where the flag stood lifelessly, there was no one. The Marines checked every corner and circled the flag for several minutes.

“Everything’s clear, sir.”

“Maybe they did charge out already. Grab the flag and let’s go.”

What the marines did not realize was that there was a back entrance to the base which was hidden from view of the flag room. All sixteen of the Guards force was stacked up on the sides of the door. Luna made a few hand gestures when she heard the Marine leader ordered the flag taken.

“I’m on it—” the marine was cut short by several distinct “clanging” noises, as if something was bouncing in their direction. They all turned and spotted the pulsing metal cylinder.

“PULSE!”

The object exploded in a blinding light right as Luna led the charge inside. The six temporarily blinded marines inside the flag room were completely and utterly annihilated, dropping and then being teleported back to their base.

“Let’s go! Take their vehicles!” Luna shouted as she and the designated troops all ran outside towards the front entrance. Two marines kept watch outside by their rides. Luna emerged first and opened fire on the first marine, striking him with several of the stun rounds and forcing his body to convulse in pain before he hit the ground and disappeared. Windfire took the second one. With that, the marines were without vehicular support.

“We ride!” Luna shouted as she boarded the passenger seat of one of the carriers. Windfire took the driver’s seat and Helmuth sat behind Luna. The other offensive troops grabbed the other carriers and they rode off, enacting their battle plan. As they drove, Luna reloaded her weapon and turned to Windfire. She just stared at him and he could feel her eyes boring into her, making the situation that much more stressful. Finally she spoke.

“So, how was she?”

He blinked a couple of times, not understanding what she was getting at.

“W…what?”

“How was she?” Luna repeated.

“What are you talking about?”

“I know you and Tia rutted each other like rabbits last night. How was she?”

“W…Are… are you seriously asking me this… right now?”

“Yes. I am seriously asking you right now.” It was evident that Luna was attempting to annoy him and get him uncomfortable. He soon picked up on this.

“Well, if you must know, she was amazing. It was absolutely heavenly! Especially when she did that thing where she took my—”

“Okay! Okay! That’ll do… jeez that backfired, didn’t it…” Luna commented, facepalming. The two then looked at each other and burst out laughing. That laughter was cut off when they found themselves at the Marine base and their eyes widened at what awaited them.

“OH SHIT!” Luna shouted out before their transport was hit with a magical pulse, completely disabling it and stopping it in its tracks. The vehicle immediately came under fire; the three had to duck low inside it to prevent from getting hit. Soon, the other troops arrived on the scene to help alleviate the pressure on the three of them.

“Alright… you two. The others will draw fire away from us. On my signal, we make a break for it to the inside of their base. Shoot anything that moves, okay?” Luna said.

“You got it,” Helmuth stated.

“On your signal,” Windfire reiterated. Luna nodded.

“Alright… three… two… one… GO!”

*Back at the Guard's base*

“Hey Mond, how do you think they’re fairing up there?” one of the guards, Wintergreen asked. A couple of guards reappeared at the base from being ‘downed’ and attempted to make their way back to the front line.

“Knowing Luna, they’re handing the Marine’s asses to them on a silver platter,” Mond replied. At that moment three figures materialized on top of the base with them: Luna, Helmuth, and Windfire.

“Well that was a fucking disaster,” Luna deadpanned as she immediately began walking towards the edge of the base and towards their vehicles, the other two following her. Wintergreen chortled as she looked at Mond.

“Guess I spoke too soon…”

~~

“Alright, let’s try this again without me tripping over myself and getting shot five times,” Luna stated as they rode back towards the front line. As far as she knew, the others were keeping the Marines on the defensive. Luna was definitely annoyed.

“Relax, Luna. Shit happens,” Windfire replied.

“No, this shit does not happen. This particular shit should never snake its way out of whatever colon produced it. I couldn’t have looked more like an ass if I rode into battle dressed like a pony with a horn on my head and fur all over my tits.”

“Like I said, you’re overreacting. Even the ‘all powerful high and mighty Lunar Princess’ makes mistakes,” Windfire replied. Luna gave him a half lidded glare; even though she knew he was right. It was alright to screw up once in a while.

“Fuck you, Windfire.”

“You’re welcome, Luna.”

The two grinned and silently giggled to themselves. Soon they arrived back at the front and began taking fire again.

“Drive, Drive! Into the base!” Luna ordered. Windfire floored it and drove the transport right through the front entrance, running into a Marine while they were at it, who disappeared and reappeared elsewhere. When the other guards saw the three of them charge into the base itself, they ran down to support them, coming under fire the entire way.

“Let’s go!” Luna shouted as they disembarked. Luna passed a corner and found a marine waiting for her, and he attempted to smack her with his rifle in an attempt at a stealthy strike. Luna merely dodged and countered by smacking her own rifle into his face, grabbing his arm, and judo flipping him onto his front. She then shot him several times in the back, eliciting a cry of agony before he disappeared.

The other guards were holding the perimeter as best as they could but were still under heavy fire from the defending marines. All available vehicles were now at the marine base, so those who were ‘casualties’ had to end up running the entire way back to the front, causing a gradual thinning of the line. Half an hour had passed and the three inside the base were fighting their way to the flag room, encountering resistance at every corner from defending and respawning marines.

“Helmuth! Watch the back!” Luna commented, seeing marines enter the base from the front where they came in.

“Way ahead of you!” Helmuth replied, defending their advance behind a corner. Luna was in the midst of aiming her weapon when two stun rounds struck her in the shoulder. She cried out in pain, but didn’t fall or succumb to them. She charged into the marine and side kicked him into the wall before unloading her weapon’s magazine into his torso. He disappeared as he slumped down the wall, Luna muttering a curse under her breath as she massaged her ‘wound.’ The guard line was virtually fractured outside the base as they took losses and they couldn’t be replenished fast enough. At that moment, Windfire got hit twice in the head with assault rifle rounds, crying out in pain before disappearing.

“Dammit! Just you and me, Luna,” Helmuth acknowledged. Luna nodded as they both fought their way into the flag room. Luna quickly ran in and plucked the flag out of its holder before running back to cover, almost getting shot up. Two marines with shotguns chased after her, which created a massive problem. Luna hid behind a corner and waited until the turned it before she smacked the first marine in the face with the flag pole itself. She twirled it like a baton and hit the weapon of the second marine out of his hands before spinning it again and jabbing it into his abdomen. Helmuth finished the two wounded marines off to make them disappear. Luna clutched the flag with her left hand while unholstering her pistol with her right. She fought her way out of the base with Helmuth leading the charge outside. However, when they got out there, the entire guard line was being overwhelmed and the two of them were surrounded. At that moment, Windfire had made his way back and was taking cover by one of the abandoned vehicles. He neutralized the marines attacking him before taking the vehicle towards the entrance. The last of the other guards were hit and forced to respawn, so the three of them were on their own now.

“GET THE FUCK OVER HERE!” Luna yelled out in desperation right as Windfire pulled up. Luna jumped into the passenger’s seat, taking a round to the thigh, but shaking it off with enormous effort. Helmuth wasn’t so fortunate as he jumped back in, receiving a large spray of rounds up the length of his back before dematerializing.

“DRIVE GODDAMMIT!” Luna shouted over the shots being fired as she continued firing her pistol behind her. The marines were not going to let them get away so easily as they started chasing them with their other vehicles. One of the marines' vehicles smacked into the side of theirs, having them fishtail slightly before regaining control. Luna aimed back and fired, striking the shooting passenger marine in the chest twice before he dematerialized. Luna then had to duck low again while she took fire from an assault rifle before returning fire again.

The shooting war between the vehicles lasted all the way back to the Guard’s base where some marines had driven ahead and attempted to rout Luna’s and Windfire’s return. Right as they disembarked, Windfire took another three rounds to the chest and disappeared. Luna dashed and swan dived inside the base entrance, landing hard with the flag still in her hand. She ran to the flag room with the entire marine force practically following her and engaging the other guards… it almost looked comedic as she was running room to room, shooting behind her. She got to the flag room and found the holder where she was supposed to plant the flag. Right as she ran there, she felt her entire right leg and side of her torso go numb as seven rounds sprayed up her body. Her leg buckled as she yelled out in pain, but before she succumbed to her ‘wounds,’ she firmly planted the flag in the holder; finally falling onto her chest and disappearing. The Guards had scored and there were mere seconds left in the game.

“Game over. Royal Guard Victory.”

All the troops were teleported back to the courtyard, cheering and high-fiving each other. Luna got up off the ground and rested her weapon on her shoulders, nodding approvingly to her friends.

“Job well done, boys. Excellent work,” Luna said, hugging the both of them. The entire group was congratulated on their victory and they all redressed in casual attire, the guards being given the rest of the day off. Luna redressed herself, said bye to Windfire and Helmuth, and headed for Twilight’s.

Luna arrived at Twilight’s place at about five in the afternoon and knocked on the door. No one answered for several minutes, even as Luna continued to knock. She also found that the door was unlocked. She shrugged and quietly let herself in.

“Twilight? I’m here!” Luna shouted out, but there was no answer. However, she heard what sounded like music coming from upstairs in Twilight’s room. Luna quietly made her way up the stairs and put her ear to the door. Yes, it was music indeed, and hard rock to be more precise. She creaked the door open to find Twilight dancing along to the music, and singing along to the lyrics perfectly. Her eyes were open and she was as happy as can be, but she seemed entranced and enveloped in the music, singing her heart out as if it was her job. She had a beautiful voice and her movements in perfect synchronization with the beat made her look even more graceful than normal. Luna let herself in and sat in a chair that was allowed her to have a full view of the performing beauty. Luna was very impressed to say the least. Eventually, the song wound down and Twilight came out of her stupor, just noticing that Luna was there.

“I must say, you’re quite impressive, Twilight.”

“H-How long were you sitting there?” Twilight asked, clearly somewhat embarrassed that she had had an audience.

“A fair amount of the song. Well done, by the way. You’re going to ‘knock them dead’ tomorrow at the festival!” Luna encouraged, offering some small applause. Twilight blushed a bit.

“Thanks, Luna. That’s actually why I wanted to hang out today. I was wondering if you’d help me rehearse and give me feedback?”

“I’d love to, Twilight! By the way, that reminds me. How’s Fluttershy doing with tomorrow looming over you two?” Luna asked.

“Rainbow Dash is helping Fluttershy pick her song and rehearse it,” Twilight explained. Luna nodded and smiled.

“I hope that’s going well for them.”

“Alright, Fluttershy, we’re going to make sure you’re ready for tomorrow! But first things first: What do you want to perform?” Rainbow Dash asked Fluttershy, who was clearly still somewhat anxious about the coming day.

“That’s just it. I-I’m not too sure, even on a genre,” Fluttershy admitted. Dash waved her hand dismissively.

“That’s alright. If you want my suggestion, you can’t really go wrong with rock music! Everyone loves it, even if they say they don’t,” Dash suggested. Fluttershy agreed, because it at least got her somewhere.

“Okay, I can deal with that. But what song should I sing?” she reiterated her question. Dash produced a few papers with writing on them.

“Here’s a list of some songs that I love as well as some of the popular ones out there. Give it a look!” Dash said a she pushed them towards Fluttershy. She picked them up and began to scan the titles of the songs and their respective artists. Eventually, Dash noticed that Fluttershy’s eyes stopped on something.

“See something you like?”

“Kinda… I think… I think I’ll choose this one,” Fluttershy said as she showed Rainbow her choice. Upon seeing it, her mouth contorted itself into a smile.

“I’ll admit, the lyric content may not be entirely your type, but by the title of the song, I can entirely see why you picked it! So, you sure about this one?” Rainbow confirmed. Fluttershy nodded with a grin.

“Alrighty then, let’s get the lyrics, let you listen to it, and let’s get started! You’re gonna knock ‘em dead tomorrow!”