I am happy to see that I've had at least a few readers view my boring little story. And Thank you Bluecatcinema, for being my first reviewer! I'm glad you like the interaction between Drake and Shining Armor. I do hope that I'm doing well at keeping Shining (or at least a younger Shining) in character. I at least know that I am keeping Drake in character eh? Heheh. Anywho, if you enjoy Drake and Shining moments, you'll no doubt like this chapter. Herein, they have a rare moment of ideological connection with each other, and somewhere in between their rivalry and their respect for one another, between their differences and their shared convictions, and between their fights and their conversations, I think they finally cement the sort of connection they'll end up having for the rest of their lives. Or maybe not. They can't go more than a few days without an argument afterall. Haha...well, here it is, Chapter 6 of the story that will begin a saga I promise you will get lost in. Please send me reviews. Haven't written in a while, and I have a pathological fear I may not be as good as I once was. Anyway, enjoy.
CHAPTER 6
Junior year in academy was the year we really got into the fun stuff. Finally finished with all of our basic studies and introductory courses, we finally got to explore the finer points of whatever branch we had signed up for. For Shining Armor, this meant he got to work on magic spells and whatever else it is that unicorns do in the military.
For me, it meant a chance to do what I like doing anyway: working on tracking and field-craft. From the time I was twelve, I'd spent almost every other weekend hiking and camping, so most of what they were teaching was stuff I'd already learned on my own. How to start fires, for instance, how to build shelters from sticks and dirt, and how to follow trails left by other ponies or wild animals. They also taught us techniques I had never thought of: how to filter water through a bandanna or cloth filled with clean sand, how to leave false tracks to fool pursuers and trap them in an ambush, and how to set up traps for the enemy.
As I said, this was something besides sword-fighting that I could take to as easy as breathing. Believe it or not, there were three ponies, two earth ponies and a unicorn in my survival class, who had never been camping before. Apparently, like my roommate, they had grown up in privileged families, and knew nothing about roughing it in the wild...or anywhere else for that matter. I ended up on several occasions having to help them figure out how to make a fire with a flint and steel. The unicorn was a total loss, and at least he was able to make up for his lack of ability at fire-making by using magic. He went on believing it was fine and dandy, and I went on believing that he was cheating, and we let it go at that.
More entertaining yet was our escape and evasion training exercises, which should have appropriately been called 'tactical hide-and-seek'. I hardly ever lost when playing the role of a pursuer, but after the first few failed attempts at hiding, I realized a damning birth defect had been thrust upon me. With a nearly stark-white coat, I blended in as well in the woods as the bright red pony in my class who suffered as much as I did, until we discovered a simple remedy. Camouflage is very important in a combat situation, and equally or more so when tracking or avoiding trackers. It's also made more important when you have a tendency to melt into your surroundings like an ink stain on a sheet.
I remember the first day that I used my new-found camouflaging technique. I returned to my dorm later than usual, as survival class was my last of the day, and tended to run late some days. I walked into the dorm, and Shining Armor was sitting in the wingback chair in the corner of the common room. He looked up and gave me a puzzled look.
"Can I help you...wait, Drake? Is that you?!" He gasped.
"The one and only." I shrugged with a grin.
"What in the...what are you covered in?" He questioned. I looked down at myself as if I had only just noticed something was different.
"Oh, this?" I answered nonchalantly. "Needed something to help me disappear in the woods. It's my own proprietary blend of mud, clay, leaves, sticks, and over a dozen herbs and spices." I grinned proudly. "I can give you the recipe if you want."
"Drake..." Shining groaned. "Shower...now!" I couldn't help it. I laughed all the way to the bathroom.
Another class that sticks out from my junior year at academy (for completely different reasons) was a silly, redundant course in 'proper etiquette for military officers'. This 'tea parties for warriors' class covered very many important issues in being a leader of soldiers. If I remember correctly, some of them were 'issues and bearing when addressing royalty', 'proper penmanship for correspondence', 'proper wear and decoration of the dress uniform', and my personal favorite, a small course in language arts. Canterlot Military Academy wants to make damn sure that its graduates are not only the finest military leaders, but also the most prim and proper. I was miserable. Shining thought it was hilarious.
Allow me to elaborate. Many times in this very necessary class, I found myself in full dress uniform, a stuffy, hot, uncomfortable light blue jacket, with more buttons than it needed, and more trim than I felt was attractive. While in this uniform, I was made to sit at a table and sip tea the right way, learn how to bow when appropriate, kneel when needed, and worst of all, put my normal personality and way of speaking to the side and 'speak appropriately'. Of course 'speaking appropriately' changed according to the situation and to whom I was addressing. As uncomfortable as it was, all I had to do was mimic Shining Armor's day-to-day mannerisms, and I passed.
You can probably imagine how tired I got of learning how to act like a snob, and you can pretty accurately guess how long it took me to get tired of it. I had to put up with 'proper bearing' for an hour each afternoon, then I had to deal with it in my dorm every night. Soon, I developed a routine that further irritated my roommate. I'll give you an example. I walked into the dorm one evening, carelessly tossed my saddlebags into the corner, and addressed the wealthy unicorn thusly:
"Evenin' Shinin'!" I greeted. "I'm about as tired as a blacksnake full of mice on a cold damn day."
"That is one...colorful euphemism." Shining commented.
"Darn right. Can't use 'em in normal conversation." I complained, walking into the kitchen and grabbing a cider. A hard cider. No classes tomorrow. As an afterthought, I grabbed the remaining box of five, trotted back into the living room and dropped onto a chair. "Not becomin' to an officer."
"Well, no, it's not." Shining agreed.
"Yeah, and it's dumber than my hind end." I added. "Shining, if I have to put on a mask and pretend to be all proper and dignified when I'm around royalty...or some brigadier general, fine. I can do that. But believe you me...once I ain't in proper society, I'm my old self in spades. Just a warnin' heheh."
"Um...alright...then." He muttered. I took a long drink of the cider. "Hahaha...I tell you, Drake..."
"Hm?" I asked, looking over, perplexed toward Shining.
"You are without a doubt the most unique and colorful pony I have ever met in my life." The unicorn said with a slight smile.
"Heh. That a compliment or an insult?" I scoffed.
"Well, it depends on the day, honestly." Shining shot back.
"Heheh." I chuckled, then tossed Shining Armor one of the bottles of hard cider
"I don't drink." He said apprehensively.
"Well, maybe not normally, but you are now." I grinned. He eyed the bottle nervously, then popped open the lid and took a drink. His sour face told the tale, and I chuckled again.
"Well, what do ya think about the common pony's drink?" I asked.
"It's certainly not...fine champagne." He answered
"That's the point." I said. He took another drink, and this time he didn't respond as sourly. I took a long drink and let the alcoholic beverage work its magic.
"Not...so bad." Shining mused. He took another drink. "It's sort of relaxing in a way."
"Exactly." I replied. I drank the rest of my bottle, and opened a new one.
"You um...you have another one I could have?" My roommate asked. I cocked an eyebrow up at him, then grinned.
"Weellll..." I jested. "Glad to see you have a pony side old chap." I took another bottle from the cardboard carton and reached it to Shining. He opened the top and took a long drink. We sat in silence a few minutes, until we had finished our ciders, then proceeded to open two more.
"You know," Shining began, the slightest trace of a slur to his voice. "you're not so bad a stallion...sometimes." Great, my roommate couldn't handle his booze.
"Heh...and you're apparently capable of being pretty agreeable too." I joked. Shining took another drink.
"I'm being serious here, Drake." He said. "You're a great guy, I just wanted to say that."
"Hold that thought." I said. I went into the kitchen, and returned with another six pack of cider, and handed one to Shining before dropping back into my chair and opening a bottle of my own. Already filled with three bottles of the elixir, I turned up the beverage and took a long, satisfying drink. I looked over to see that Shining Armor had done the same.
"You remember when you said I should talk to a filly?" He finally asked. I thought for a few moments.
"I think so, yeah."
"Well...to be honest...I was seeing a nice filly before academy."
"Really?" I asked, genuinely impressed. "I did not know that." He took a long drink and wiped his muzzle, before sighing wistfully.
"Big secret of course. It was nothing...official. More of a little scandal between she and I, heheh."
"Sounds like there was something there." I commented. He looked at me a moment, like he didn't know whether or not to admit something I already knew.
"Yes...I love her." He muttered. He turned up the bottle and drained the contents. "Hear that, father? I am in love with a mare outside of my social circle! Ha!" He reached a hoof over, and I placed another bottle in it. "Oh the disgrace!" He said cynically.
"Well, if you love her, and she loves you...what does it matter? I asked seriously.
"Because it all has to do with all the rules and decorum of aristocracy that you always find so terrible, Drake. She and I are from different classes, and technically, we are not supposed to...mingle in that way without permission."
"That sounds asinine." I remarked. "The hay would happen if you did?"
"I don't know. My father would disown me...maybe? Princess Celestia would disapprove? Tartarus would split in twain and Nightmare Moon would return...I don't know." He drank practically half of his bottle in one swig. This was becoming strange and alien. The drunker Shining got, the more normal he became.
"Sounds like you need to figure out what you're gonna do about it, Shining." I said sagely before taking a drink of my cider.
"Mm!" He responded, in the middle of a drink. He pointed his bottle at me in emphasis as he swallowed. "I know what you mean, my friend. Once I graduate and become Captain of the Guard, I can become betrothed to anypony I please! I've decided. I love her, and I am going to court her, and one day, I will marry my beloved."
"Heheh." I laughed. "That's the spirit, Shining."
"I do miss her." He sighed. Oh no, drunk getting sad. Gotta do something.
"She a looker?" I asked, a playful smile on my face. He scoffed.
"Oh, she is one beautiful...delicate, alluring one." He said dreamily. "With all of the sensual, feminine features any stallion could ever desire."
"Okaayyy..." I said softly before taking a long drink.
"Her graceful yet ravishing mein is worthy of...of a classical sculpture...or a dim lit bedroom replete with satin sheets."
"Wow...that's oddly specific." I said. He looked at me a moment, then burst out laughing. When he caught his breath, he finished his bottle.
"So, do you have a special filly somewhere, my friend?" He asked.
"Nope." I replied. "Figure I'll wait for the right one, if she exists. Guess if she does, I ain't found her yet."
"Hm. But you seem so wise about such things." Shining said. There was a moment of silence, broken when we opened two more bottles of cider. "Why did you join the military, Drake?" He asked.
"I's always good at it. Don't think I could do anything else..." I replied, starting to feel my drinks.
"Nothin' beyond that?" Shining pressed.
"I dunno." I admitted. "I'm gonna graduate, and be a cavalry lieutenant, and probably spend most my time on the border or out in the frontier or something. Protecting ponies...doing some good for Equestria, I guess."
"Sacrificing your own safety and comfort for others...you're a rare one."
"Haha, Well, that's why I gotta do it, right? Nopony else is gonna do this job."
"Noble...that's sure noble, Drake."
"Eh, isn't it the truth? Not everypony is gonna fight if they have to. Lotta bad out there in the world. I guess it's up to us to try and make the world a little better."
"Aren't you afraid of dying though?" Shining asked.
"I never really think about that." I admitted. "Why bother, dammit? I'm gonna die anyway. I'll die in battle or I'll die in bed. I'd rather go down fightin' for somethin'." I thought for a moment. "Heck, I'll settle for dyin' saving somepony before I spend my life doin' nothing and dyin' of old age." Shining was silent a moment. Then, he leaned toward me, and in a strangely deep and philosophical tone said;
"You're a whirlwind in a thorn tree, Drake"
"Wait...what did you say?" I asked, seriously contemplating the meaning of Shining's sudden esoteric insight.
"I...I um tired and gon' go to...bed...night." Shining slurred, already curling up in his chair like a foal. I was silent and still a moment, watching as my always prim and proper, aristocratic roommate lay in a heap, curled up in a wingback chair, passed out cold. I then lacklusterly drained the last of my cider and stood woozily.
"Aright...night Shinin'" I slurred. "Need some sleep too I reckon." Suddenly, the bed seemed so many miles away, and that rug looked very comfortable.