The Following Chapter 2: Waking Up In the Evening
"Uhh, what happened last night," groaned Antiflux rubbing his bloodshot eyes on a soft red cloth, "did I have too much of that foreign cider again, damn that bubbly apple crap."
"Of all the things to be on your mind when you wake up in a foreign place it had to be cider," a feminine voice shocked Antiflux out of his groggy state. "Who's there?! Show yourself!" rising off of the bed he reached for his boot knife when he was met with an intense headache. Laying back dazed Antiflux saw a crimson red pegasus approach him with a slight spring in her step, "HI CAPTAIN," the mare screamed in exuberance, "new recruit Bloodblossom reporting for duty SIR!" With the extra emphasis on "sir" Bloodblossum saluted, perhaps a little too forcefully, for after a few seconds she lowered her hoof Antiflux thought her forehead looked a little redder; or maybe that was just her natural color, you never could tell with a pony as red as her. "Of all the mares I wake up to, it had to be YOU," Antiflux groaned throwing his hands in the air in desperation. Upon reopening his eyes he stared right into the face of a beaming Bloodblossum, ear to ear smile and all. Antiflux let out a great sigh before addressing his energetic subordinate, "how long have I been out, I'm going to go with a whole 24 hours. How warm am?" Antiflux was never the one to be formal with his soldiers, despite oppositions but his superiors he treated his troop in a firm but casual attitude with which he believed would help them to be more of a family rather than a forced march.
"Oh Cappy," responded the cheery pony with a giggle and a smile, "you've only been asleep for an hour." Antiflux stared back skeptically, "An hour, since my doctor's appointment, only an hour. Are you sure Bloodblossom?" "Yeap siree Cappy sir," another address to her captain called for another salute by the young Pegasus. "Mehh. I was hoping to get a day off of duty for this," Antiflux complained looking at the clock hanging above a small fireplace but instead of it being a welcome relief it was a blatant reminder of his lack of good fortune, "now I've only wasted my lunch break."
Antiflux and Bloodblossum were relatively close as far as captains to soldiers go. The death of Bloodblossum's mother from birth complications left a rift between Bloodblossum and her father Lockjaw. After several charges of abuse were filed against Lockjaw by Bloodblossum's relatives, Bloodblossum was sent to an orphanage. All of Bloodblossum's life until that point seemed to a depressing destiny; however she and Antiflux's meeting was a miraculous anomaly for the grief stricken pegasus.
Two years after her arrival at the orphanage Antiflux and his troop were sparring and demonstrating drills and marches outside of the orphanage for the older orphans hoping to be accepted into the Lunar Army. Obviously not anything a young Pegasus mare should be interested however that did not stop Bloodblossum. Muscling her way to the front of the crowd she witnessed Antiflux's might, and listened to him and his comrade's give their testimony about why they fought for the Lunar Army. At that point Bloodblossum knew what she wanted to do with life, to protect and defend everything and everyone who could not do it themselves. Enlisting in the Lunar Army under Troop Kurabi Bloodblossum earned her Cutie Mark; two crippled wings surrounded by a shield, and earned an esteemed place as Antiflux's personal trainee and secret favorite trooper.
"Oh it's no biggy Cappy at least you're with me!" Even though he had to put up with Bloodblossum's outbursts on a consistent basis Antiflux truly enjoyed his work in the Lunar Army. Being able to train and lead his troop which he proudly claimed as the 'best joint troop in all of the Lunar Army' was one of his greatest passions. But as all great things it came with a price that he dreaded more than anything, paperwork, and today his monthly report on the spending and maintenance of his troop was due. Dreading the late night ahead of him Antiflux lay silent for a brief period, too brief for the ever talkative Pegasus, "so Cappy you ready for the big night tonight?" A now overjoyed Bloodblossom was bouncing around the room with unsuppressed glee.
The young captain looked at her curiously and thought to himself, "so cheerful for such a position, I wonder if she lusts for the danger or if she wants every breath to be laughter." Clearing his mind of his thoughts he lowered his feet onto the ground and stood taking shaky steps forward trying to catch up with the Pegasus, "what do you mean 'ready for the big night tonight'," Antiflux questioned faking a bounce and imitating her voice perfectly. Bloodblossom ceased bouncing and stared at her captain oblivious of his sarcasm actually thinking that his faked enthusiasm was authentic, "welllllllllll," said Bloodblossom dragging the word out to the furthest degree but never getting past it.
Antiflux stood there waiting for her answer but all he got was a large smile and a Pegasus who was obviously relishing the attention from her captain a little too much, "yes?" he coaxed. "Well I was just saying that Princess Luna is making her official return tonight from Canterlot and there's going to be so many festivities and fanfare as far as the eye can see!" she lifted her hooves and made a large swooping motion to emphasize how big of an event this arrival seemed to be.
It took a moment for her words to truly sink into Antiflux, with such a brief respite from the Speaker Seeker spells his mind was weak from exhaustion, "leaping Luna you're right! I completely forgot about the whole thing!" He began pacing back and forth running preparations through his mind trying to recall if he had run through marching drills with his troop or whether he had them completely shine their ceremonial armor, but his mind was scrambled.
Bloodblossum could see the troubled look on his face so she moved in to help, at her approach Antiflux realized something that fly right by him the second he awoke, "hey wait a minute," he said stopping his pacing to fully address his soldier, "if I went out at the doctor's how did I wake up here?" His hoof went to his face as he dreaded the answer to his next question, "gawd damnit Bloodblossum you weren't following me again were you?" As loyal Bloodblossum was she didn't go off duty ever, ever. In several cases Antiflux found his new recruit following him even when morning training had completed, to his favorite coffee shop Applebucks named after the trademark apple ingredients used in their coffee and the unique way they have of harvesting them in the Day Realm.
Bloodblossum looked around sheepishly taking a few steps backwards before finally gathering enough courage to answer, "yes Captain Antiflux," she said with her head down. Her straight answer took Antiflux aback; whenever she addressed him properly he knew she was sincere. "I followed you to Dr. Gowge's office and I waited patiently outside for him to finish raping you or whatever you two do in there." Despite the admittance to her following him Antiflux lowered his eyelids in exasperation, not only was every other pony in his division saying that he was having nefarious affairs with the doctor but now his own trainee, "stupid rumors," he thought broodingly. "And after it had been a couple of hours," she continued lamenting, "I went inside and saw you lying on a red desk asleep, I looked around for Dr. Gowge but couldn't find so I picked you up and carried you back to my house." After she completed her confession her eyes were fixed on the floor, remorseful that she may have offended her beloved captain. Fearing that he may have hurt his cheery trainee with his accusations, he walked up to her and put an encouraging hoof around her shoulder making her head instantly shoot back up and her eyes bug out gleefully. "Ahhh it's alright little Buddy," he assured calling her the pet name he used whenever she messed up on a training drill, "if it wasn't for you stalking me and picking me up I would have woken up to an old man. And that would have been...less than pleasurable," he said with a shudder.
"So you're not mad at me?!" she exclaimed jubilantly bouncing a pony's height straight in the air. Although he wished that she would be serene on more occasions, Antiflux found himself missing her exuberant nature whenever she did calm down, which rarely happened. "Ha-ha of course not Buddy," he comforted with a chuckle, "now suit up, I have to go back to my place and put on my armor I'll meet you back here when I'm done."
All traces of her past composure were now lost in her newly obtained joy, "don't worry about it Cappy, I've taken the liberty of going to your house and bringing your armor here while you were out cold." She reached under the bed Antiflux had been lying on and pulled out a large wooden chest which Antiflux recognized as his grandfather's chest and upon opening found his armor perfectly cleaned and polished. Her expression was now completely one of mirth when she saw Antiflux raise his armor out of his chest with a look of surprise on his face, "I didn't expect you to wake up so late so I didn't get a chance to triple shine it but you I wasn't able to," she explained looking down despondently. He admired his polished armor, he didn't know any other pony that could polish as well as him, if not for joining the Lunar Army he might've been a jeweler. "This is incredible Bloodblossum," he admitted reluctantly, "and to think I held the title of being best polisher in all of the Midnight Kingdom."
"Oh well of cooouurse you are Cappy," she said rolling her eyes and giggling, "it's not like you come from a family of jewelers or anything." Antiflux had to consent to Bloodblossum's reasoning, her family the Emeralds was recognized as the best jewelry makers in all of Chrome, and with the addition of their new catch phrase, "anything can be shiny but only Emeralds sparkle" they were vying for the best jewelers in all of the Midnight Kingdom.
"Hey wait a minute!" Antiflux exclaimed, "how did you get into my house?!" Bloodblossum's eyes wandered, beads of sweat dripping down her brow, "uhh, uhm well you see, IIIIII think I'm going to go change now!" Not waiting for Antiflux's response she flew into her bedroom a circular room with no doors or windows to be seen, only walls erected a feet away from the ceiling; for a pony who didn't know anything about any other pony's privacy she sure did appreciate her own.
While Antiflux knew Bloodblossum to be a bit of a stalker he would have never suspected her to spy on him changing, somewhat of a paradox belief in that the only clothing he usually wore was his white captains' cloak; changing in private was merely a polite thing to do in Chrome and for much of Equestria. Antiflux donned his ceremonial silver greaves and chest-plate. While not admitting to being as annoyed as the next pony who was forced to garb themselves in their troublesome armor, it wasn't every night you were able to witness the raising of the moon by Princess Luna; and for that, Antiflux bore his heavier weight with a quiet dignity.
It wasn't a surprise that the Princess would be paying a visit to Chrome, the largest city in the Night Realm and the center for commerce and trade in all of a Equestria toppling even Canterlot and Fillydelphia; a title Princess Luna and the citizens of Chrome wore with pride. The "surprise" while secretly expected by AntiFlux, the captain of Joint Infantry Troop 17, but while expected he was not hesitant display his joy along with the rest of his troop; although what AntiFlux would call "joy" didn't seem as such to anypony else.
Chrome, being the commerce capital of Equestria was not in the least the most appealing. Every building and tower consisted of monochromatic colors between white and black, or in some cases a very dark blue. To any other pony this would seem a sad and depressing world, but to the citizens of Midnight, Princess Luna's ordained realm of nocturnal ponies, this place was home. Nestled among the tallest of the Solar Mountain Range, the peak of the tallest mountain in Equestria Blackstone held Chrome. The "Kingdom of Midnight" as it is called by its citizens was given to Luna in the founding of Equestria but was left unattended and forgotten during Princess Luna's thousand year banishment. Left without their ruler the Midnight Ponies fended mostly for themselves under the rule of the two brother generals of the Lunar Army, Blackfoot and Smokesnout. Seemingly willing and welcoming to the return of their beloved princess, they wasted no time in relinquishing power back to the rightful ruler. The Kingdom of Midnight, small but proud provided most of the Royal Equestrian Force or REF, the official army of Princess Celestia and Luna's realm consisting of Celestia's Royal Guard to the common police officer. Created by Princess Celestia herself after the banishment of Luna, the main purpose of the Force was to control any acts of violence or strife amongst ponies, contain all harmful creatures within the Everfree Forest, and to the ready for any further attacks from Nightmare Moon or any foreign assailant. Committed to bear arms at any moment the Royal Equestrian Force along with the Lunar Army had to secure a safe arrival and departure for the Princesses, and this was one of those nights.
Antiflux straightened his prized Medal of Advancement, the emblem given to everypony who was accepted into the REF. He overlooked and inspected every part of his attire making sure every part of his armor had been properly shined and every hair on his wavy mane was put in place, but also so that the part in his hair the scar made was covered.
Even though he would probably not be able to have audience with the Princess Antiflux hoped that he would; for to Antiflux, Princess Luna was the moon, in a way that she was his light in the dark. Thanks to Dr. Gouge's Speaker Seeker therapy Antiflux was still able to remember what happened that night after the attack, one of the most important nights of his life. He could still hear the voice of Princess Luna commanding the doctor's to operate on him after they retrieved him and the rest of the troop's survivors of the Ursa Major attack. The doctors at Final Hope all but abandoned the hope that Antiflux would have survived an attack of that caliber, saying that he had lost too much blood to be saved even if they stitched up the wounds; even going so far as to say that if he survived by some miracle he would be a vegetable, the words they used still stung him to this day "a brainless sack of meat".
Clearing his head of the disheartening memories he focused on the image of Princess Luna he had locked away in the back of his head so that whenever he needed something to cheer him up when Bloodblossum wasn't around, he remembered his Princess. Despite everypony's gossip he constantly insisted to them that he was not in love with her, which was not entirely true. Antiflux had to confess his feelings towards her to himself, he didn't know if he loved her or not she was just everything to him. She and his troop were the only reason he woke up to the rising of the moon, it wasn't for family or friends for he could not remember any of them. Some time ago after the surgery he was approached by two ponies claiming to be in his troop when they were under attack and the only two who survived operation out of the three other soldiers who were rescued. Confused and unsettled by their claims Antiflux didn't believe them and after that day he didn't have any other ponies mentioning the attack to him, none but Dr. Gouge.
Hearing the flap of wings behind him, Antiflux gawked at Bloodblossum in full armor. Her new beauty was surprising compared to her usually bedraggled look, often scolded by Troop Kurabi's oldest veteran Mistymoon. Bloodblossum must have noticed Antiflux's fixed stare on her for she continued turning around dramatically to make her mane flow to and fro. Finally regaining his ability to speak to asked her abashed, "whatever happened to your famous 'I don't give a crap' kind of ideals?" Giggling violently Bloodblossum gripped a nearby table to avoid falling over in her laughing fit, "oh you silly silly Cappy! If I'm going to be around some of the Midnight Kingdom's best I want to be my best, know what I mean?" she joked winking and jabbing his side with her elbow. Antiflux rolled his eyes, as much of a faithful trainee Bloodblossum was, when it came to a handsome stallion she was long gone into love town.
"Alright I think you've stalled long enough Cappy, let's go!" With a spring in her step she grabbed her captain by the arm and pulled him out of the door and into the street. Looking up at the starry night he saw a bright full moon illuminating the pale buildings and street in a milky light. Antiflux smiled and galloped after his skipping friend down the street towards the castle.
Author's Note: Hey guys it's Arbasyn as you might have guessed, I just wanted to let you guys know about a couple of things so you don't get confused and kill me or something haha
I don't know if you noticed a lot of talk about Antiflux's memory and I hope you don't get annoyed or confused but rest assured there is a big point behind all of it and it will get explained later on
I'm sorry if the story's a little slow but I just want to make sure I add a lot of character development and backstory into all of the mane characters so they can be more dynamic later on, things will pick up soon as the plot thickens. That may actually be the name of the next chapter O.o
Hope you guys like my fanfiction, I love the show and everything but I fell in love with the fandom that went along with it which helped me stay with the show and realize how awesome it was. Anyway I just wanted to make my own addition to the whole Bronyism thing and so now I can say "yea I write My Little Pony fanfiction I'm 20% cooler" and a bunch of stuff like that
Shoutout to my bros at RG Bronies and Lost Sanctum, please spread the word about my story, I'd love to have fan…..oh Celestia that'd be amazing