Brass was sauntering through the halls of the Academy, her head held up high as she passed by the many classrooms there. She, along with many of her young classmates from Cloudsdale, were on a fieldtrip to Blackland Academy, the premiere military training school for the Royal Guard's officer corps. Her and her fellow classmates all had parents with military backgrounds, so they were joining fillies and colts from all around Equestria for career day at the Academy. While there, they were supposed to get an idea of what career fields they would like to try and shoot for. Once they passed elementary school and moved to officer's training, they would already have an idea of what they wanted to do. So, to cater to the open minds of the youth, several Guards took the day off to show off the many different career fields within the Royal Guard.
Brass, like others there, had a blank flank and tried her luck at several booths that had demonstrations and hooves-on activities. She remained optimistic as Career Day was widely known to her and her peers as a day where many colts and fillies earned their cutie marks, and Brass was determined to get hers before she left.
It was nearing the end of the trip and Brass still hadn't found anything she was particularly good at or interested in. Growing sour and in a bad mood, she went outside to see what the last few activities were.
"Man, that colt is really good," said one of her classmates.
Brass overheard his comment and stopped him. "Good at what?" she asked.
The colt she was addressing stopped and turned to her. "There, over at the Sharpshooter's booth. They have a crossbow that we can try out an' stuff. It's hard, but the colt there is like, the best!"
Brass remained unimpressed and looked towards the booth, adjusting the glasses on her nose. "Pfft, he can't be THAT good…" She shook her head and went over to see what all the hype was about. As she approached the crowd, she heard the light stomping of hooves as they applauded the shooter on another end well done. She maneuvered through the ponies and got to the front, seeing another colt begin his round. "What is this all about?"
The Guard pony in charge of the booth motioned her over and told her all about it. "Well hello there, little filly. What's your name?"
"Brass. Brass Casing. My daddy is a Guard and my mommy is a nurse," she said, talking in a confident tone. She held her head up high, as if her being their daughter meant some sort of status symbol of importance.
"Well, Brass, what we have here is a crossbow for all the young fillies and colts to try out. It's perfectly safe and it gives you all a taste of what being a Royal Guard sharpshooter is all about." He gave her a smile and motioned to the range. "You see those red targets down there? The goal is to hit as many of them as you can. And those moving targets that pop up? Those are extra points. Get at least ten points and you earn one of these Junior Sharpshooter buttons for your sash. Sounds like fun, right?"
Brass was intrigued by the challenge and nodded in approval. "It does. Where is that colt every pony is talking about? They say he's good."
"Oh, him. He's over there, the yellow Pegasus. He's the only one so far who's been able to hit all the targets without missing and gain over twenty points. I just wish he would stop taunting the other students as they try their luck. It's almost as if he's trying to drive them away so no pony will break his record." He shook his head at the young Pegasus and looked back to Brass. "But you can try if you want. Maybe you can beat him."
"It's worth a shot. I tried almost all the other booths already." Brass gave him a nod and got in line with the others, though few in number after most of the others got discouraged by the yellow Pegasus' taunts.
"Oh, what is this? A lame filly is trying to beat my record? Well good luck, you silly filly," said the yellow Pegasus with a chuckled as Brass moved up to the firing line.
Brass just glared at him and took the crossbow in her hooves. She watched the other students closely before she went, so she knew how to load the crossbow and fire it without any help. The crossbow had a five bolt magazine, so she didn't have to reload until after she fired her first five shots.
"Good luck, Four-Eyes!" said the yellow Pegasus.
Brass ignored him and took aim, adjusting her glasses one more time. She drowned out his taunts and jeers as she focused ahead of her, her breathing steady and calm. Just as she was about to pull the trigger, a small flock of birds flew out from behind the targets, about ten yards passed the backboard of the regular targets. She took aim and fired all five of her shots, each one hitting a bird mid-flight. The bolts had suction cups at the end of them, so the birds weren't harmed, only shocked.
The Guard in charge of the booth looked on with amazement, walking next to Brass. "That was some fine shooting, Missy. Those targets were at least ten yards further than the ones I set up in the range. And you didn't miss a single shot! I think that deserves a prize." He went back to the booth and pinned a Junior Sharpshooter pin to her sash. "Congratulations, Brass."
After her magazine was empty, she smirked with satisfaction as she turned to the yellow Pegasus and shoved the crossbow against his chest. "That wasn't so hard…" She scoffed at him and left the booth, the twin crossbow bolt cutie mark on her flank.