The Following Chapter 3: Troop Kurabi
"Ohhhhh Cappy!" Antiflux's brisk trot to accelerate to a full gallop in an attempt to outrun his enthusiastic recruit; waking up to her was bad enough, but the possibility of being with her the whole night was almost unbearable. Weaving in between high-rise apartments buildings and squeezing through tight fitting alleyways, Antiflux could still not shake off his pegasus pursuer who knew the inner crowded portions of the city as well as he.
Sprinting right through town square and ignoring all of the greetings by the other ponies Anitflux caught his breath in an alley behind a large building and took an assessment of his surroundings. Listening to the sounds of pre-festival preparations left the sound of Bloodblossum's approaching wing flapping's impossible to determine. Relying on his knowledge of the layout of Chrome and his numerous serpentine maneuvers to outsmart his stalker, he let out the last of his breath and sank to the street panting heavily. "You're pretty fast for a unicorn Cappy," complimented a hovering Bloodblossum who was seemingly waiting for him to show up. "AHH!" exclaimed Antiflux, half from the surprise, half from being surprised like that twice from Bloodblossum on the same day.
Bloodblossum beamed, wishfully thinking that Antiflux's outburst was a positive one and that her captain was actually happy to see her; but instead of her expected hug and warm congratulation for winning their "race" she got a loud groan instead. "Bloodblossum...hack...hooo..."collapsing from exhaustion Antiflux could only talk between ragged breaths, "how did...you…keep up with…hack...me?"
"Oh that was easy as peasy Cappy," answered Bloodblossum with her usual smile, "I just looked for the super black color on your horn when you were trying to cast a Vanish spell on me silly. You know some people may call that cheating mister," continued Bloodblossum waving an accusing hoof with another curved on her hip.
"Cheating?" panted Antiflux still trying to catch his breath, being a powerful unicorn Antiflux never saw the need to continuously strain himself with physical exercise; to him a unicorn had magic, a pegasus had wings, and earth ponies had brawn, an equal match. "Why yes Cappy of course," giggled Bloodblossum helping him off his feet, "we were racing remember? And IIIII," Bloodblossum built up rearing on her hind legs, "the great and powerful Trixie am the best of them all!"
Something in Antiflux's head went off when he heard those words, a mental trigger that left him absent of all control. "HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO YOUR PEOPLE?" Antiflux screamed throwing his arms into the air and collapsing again onto the pavement. Bloodblossum looked at her captain stunned, "what's going on!," was all she could manage to say admist the shock of his outburst. Hesitatingly approaching her frenzied captain she laid a hand on his shoulder but was clutched by an iron grip on her neck. His horn glowing jet black Antiflux hardened his resolve and focused on his sole desire, to destroy Trixie.
"Captain…Anti...aack" choked Bloodblossum writhing violently in his grip. "At last I have you in my grasp, and now you will die." Closing his grip around his recruit's neck ready to end the cause of his nightmares; but not without gloating first, "any last words 'great and powerful' Trixie, any lights or lasers you'd like to say farewell to?"
Feeling the last of her breath escaping her body Bloodblossum looked up at the moon in the desire to make the emblem of her people the last thing she sees at the hands of her own captain when a small blue frame appeared on the roof of an adjacent building. "Mi…Misty?" Uttering her name Bloodblossum gave one final struggle before the blue pony jumped down onto the street then striking Antiflux on the cheek. The force of the blow knocked Antiflux to the ground breaking his concentration on his spell sending a shocked and barely breathing Bloodblossum falling to the street.
Bloodblossum struggled to open her eyes, eager to look for what happened to her captain and where the blue pony went. Her eyes locked onto a patch of pure white moonlight leading down onto the head of a collapsed black pony; his white mane split to one side of his head leaving his enormous scar horridly visible which almost illuminated under the moon's light.
Bloodblossum's blue savior sat close to Antiflux's crumpled body, appearing to be whispering into his ear. Moving in closer she could see the blue earth pony kiss Antiflux lightly on the forehead before gingerly lifting him to his feet; giving him slight support when she could see him wobbling the blue mare backed away and let Antiflux regain control of himself. "Ca…Cappy," Bloodblossum moved towards him slowly only to be pushed back by the blue mare. Antiflux raised his head to the moon and let out a great sigh as if a spirit had left his body.
"Captain Antiflux, can you hear me," the blue mare said boomingly, "it is I, Mistymoon, can you hear me?" Antiflux stared blankly ahead prompting Mistymoon to try and communicate with him again, "Antiflux," whispered Mistymoon taking her own cautionary steps towards him, "I'm here Antiflux, it's Misty, I'm here don't worry." Antiflux looked with glazed eyes at the sound of Mistymoon's soft words, "Mu...Misty. Is that you?" Extending her hoof to the shaken captain Mistymoon drew him close in a tight embrace tearing slightly.
"UHHGG, of course it's her she only said it like five times," complained Bloodblossum irritated that of all people to comfort Antiflux out of his crazed state it had to be that tombstone of a pony Mistymoon. "She won't steal my Cappy from me," brooded Bloodblossum, "no matter how calm she is it's all about passion and excitement that the dear Antiflux enjoys." Bloodblossum and her comrade Mistymoon had a complex relationship, in simple terms: Bloodblossum's quantities happiness and mirth is equal to Mistymoon's solemnity and placidness; and while Mistymoon being the veteran was Bloodblossum's superior, Bloodblossum always treated her as her rival.
"What happened, I think I blacked out there for a second what's going on?" Antiflux squeezed his head with his hooves, "I thought I heard Trixie." "You're fine Antiflux, there is no danger anywhere, you're safe now," Mistymoon comforted, "let's just make our way to Midnight Castle to meet Princess Luna; I'm sure everyone is waiting for us there." "Oh yes," Antiflux groaned, "I'm sure everyone's waiting for the infamous Troop Kurabi."
"Well it's no wonder everypony will be waiting for us there, we're the toast of the town!" praised Bloodblossum while hovering to and fro around the two walking ponies. "Do you even know what 'toast of the town' means Private Bloodblossum," questioned Mistymoon annoyed, "it means laughing stock you know that right?" While Mistymoon was known throughout Troop Kurabi to be the wisest and understanding of ponies she was also incredibly obstinate. "Uh, no it's not, it means that everyone's jealous of you and wants to be your friend. You know they're the little green monster," to complete her explanation Bloodblossum put her hooves next to her head to imitate horns. "Who would want to be friends with you," Mistymoon retorted lamely, "our objective is just to get there before we are late, it would be most unprofessional." "Excuse me but is the mist covering your eyes there Mistymoon, there's only three of us, we're not even a full team," Bloodblossum looked around as if their fourth and final member would appear suddenly out of the shadows, "where's Unreal?"
"Did someone call for me?!" shouted a voice above the rest of the troop's heads. "Oh boy," grumbled Antiflux instinctively shielding his eyes for what was to come. As soon as Mistymoon and Bloodblossum saw a silhouette of a pegasus descending towards them they were blinded by an array of flashes and lights followed by the loud clink of metal hooves landing hard on the ground. Finishing his grand entrance with a final flash of lights and flashes the pegasus Unreal made his grand catchphrase, "it is I Unreal, and may all danger and evil come before me so I can get funky!"
Looking at each other in exasperation Mistymoon and Antiflux were reminded of the arduous task of keeping the hotshot Unreal and the ever peppy Bloodblossum under control. "It's going to be a long night," confided Mistymoon to her captain. Shaking his head Antiflux chastised his comrade, "you're late again Unreal. For one so keen on making a big entrance you sure do take your time doing it." "Awe it's all in good fun Captain, you gotta keep everyone in suspense you know," ribbed Unreal, "if you come whenever you're expected it's no fun. But if you come with a huge awesome entrance aaaaand an awesome catchphrase everyone will look twice at you." Antiflux could only sigh at his prideful comrade, although Unreal had only been in Troop Kurabi for a year he had already proven himself to be a great flyer and fighter, and he knew it too.
"Awesome catchphrase. You really said 'awesome catchphrase," speculated Bloodblossum. Being of the same age and idealism as Unreal, Bloodblossum usually took his side in an argument or a spar; but when it came to theatrics and Antiflux's attention, they were sworn enemies. Rolling his eyes Unreal fly upside down above Bloodblossum, a move that befit his name, "I wouldn't expect a rookie to know anything about awesome so I'm going to let that attempt at an insult go over my head." "You said funky Unreal, funky, funky." Bloodblossum let the word truly sink into Unreal and as his eyes widened and his cheeks reddening in embarrassment she knew she made her point, "oh uh…uh...I'm still working on it, it's a prototype you know just an introduction introduction."
"Never mind your usual snooze theatrics did you bring the things I requested," questioned Antiflux trying to avoid a comrade confrontation between Bloodblossum and Unreal until they at least got to the castle. Unreal gasped as if offended by Antiflux's question, "why Captain, you act as if I'm unreliable!" "Well you were late," corrected Antiflux. Hovering for several seconds without coming up with a clever comeback Unreal gave in and led Antiflux to wear he had hidden the items he had requested. Mistymoon began to follow Antiflux but was stopped by Bloodblossum, "wait Misty I need to talk to you." Surprised by the lack of any squeal of delight or smile Mistymoon still couldn't resist the urge to chastise her young comrade, "its lieutenant Mistymoon, Private Bloodblossum, lieutenant." "Mistymoon this is no time to be petty!" although Bloodblossum's usual boisterous voice was back it was filled with desperation instead of joy. Taking a moment to recover her composure she lowered her head in grief and asked the question that had been on her mind the second she saw Antiflux, "what's wrong with him Misty," genuine concern and sorrow weaved through her words causing tears to well in her eyes, "what's wrong with my Cappy. He's not the same, he attacked me Misty; and if you weren't there I might have...he might have killed me."
Mistymoon observed her friend intently, she knew Bloodblossum cared for the Captain but this was beyond her awareness, "Private." Bloodblossum lifted her head to reveal her eyes now reddened from her rubbing them to prevent their inevitable tears, "he's going to be fine Private Bloodblossum" Misty reassured. "But, but, what does he go to the raping doctor for, why does he have that scar, why did he attack me, is he going insaa," Bloodblossum's lament towards her captain was stopped short by Mistymoon's embrace. "Don't you worry about him Bloodblossum," Mistymoon consoled between tears of her own, "I promise you. He will be fine, we'll help him together, I promise you." Pulling away from Mistymoon's embrace Bloodblossum occupied her arms in wiping her runny nose and eyes, "you know you're not really good at comforting people Misty." Chuckling slightly Mistymoon didn't take her friend's comment to heart, "you're lucky I have a sparkling sense of humor kid or I just might have to tell Captain Antiflux about this." Bloodblossum tried to keep her cool but her increasingly reddening cheeks and the bead of sweat dripping down her forehead betrayed her feelings. "Hahaha you're quite the character Bloodblossum I'll give you that."
"Hey Captain, have you asked the Lieutenant out yet or what," mocked Unreal. Antiflux looked at him confoundedly, "you're kidding right," Even the idea of such a thing made Antiflux nervous making him stumble over his own words, "Please tell me you're joking Major Unreal, she's my right hand pony my devoted comrade, how can you expect me to pursue a professional relationship to something…beyond that?" Laughing off his Captain's denying answer Unreal couldn't help but try and convince him, "oh c'mon Captain, I mean there's only four of us in the troop we're a Recon and surveillance troop for Luna's sake, why not try and have a little fun with the two beautiful ponies we've been given. Why I'd say it's Luna's way of rewarding us for all of the hard work we've done." "What work," Antiflux retorted, unknowingly encouraging Unreal's erratic ideas further, "we barely do anything. Our main job is just to keep the borders of the Everfree Forest secure and look good for the cameras." "Well putting all of that proper dibble aside just look at it from an objective point of view, I mean just picture it with me." Putting his arm around his Captain's shoulder Unreal spread his other arm across the sky as if drawing an image, "on one side you've got two very handsome upstanding stallions in the Lunar Army with decent ranking and recognition." Directing Antiflux with his arm back to where the other two ponies were waiting Unreal completed his tale, "and there, on the other glorious side is the magic of friendship. Two beautiful, single, brave, majestic, graceful, most attractive ponies in the Midnight Kingdom, no, in all of EQUESTRIA!" Antiflux raised a hoof to his forehead and squinted his eyes as if looking far away, "where are these amazing ponies?!" he shouted with mock glee, "hey I'm single ready to mingle bring on the ladies, oh but wait. I can't see any of them with Mistymoon and Bloodblossum in the way." Unreal snorted at the sarcastic remark and fly behind a corner of a small building to retrieve a large brown sack then un-ceremonially dumped the contents on the ground. "Hey hey hey you're going to get them dirty," complained Antiflux, stooping down to retrieve his beloved dagger. "Oh chillax chief it's not like we ever use them," defended Unreal, "and why do you even need a dagger, you're a top notch unicorn mage what's with the dagger." "It's a family heirloom Major Unreal. It's been passed down my family for generations," Antiflux always had a passion for history; and when it came to his own genealogy you couldn't make him start once he got started. "Yea yea whatever let's just give everyone their stuff so we can get to the castle already, I'm getting edgy here," whined Unreal flapping his wings impatiently to further his point.
"Was it because of the…the incident," even with the unusual show of affection and reassurance by Mistymoon it could not quell the anxiety in Bloodblossum's heart. "It might be," admitted Mistymoon after much thought, "of course we cannot be too certain when it comes to the wellbeing of our good Captain Antiflux. The best thing for us to do is leave him to his treatment and pray that he will be fine." "I heard about what happened to him," whispered Bloodblossum with a shiver, "he was one of four people who survived the Ursa Major attack out of the fifty that were assigned to force it back into the heart of the Everfree Forest." Mistymoon looked away despondently deep in thought for not even she had been aware of the extent of the damage the attack had on Antiflux, "you know that scar on his forehead? I heard that it was from a direct swipe by an Ursa Major and he survived." "You listen to hearsay and gossip too much Private Bloodblossum," dismissed Mistymoon trying to divert the topic away from the depressing subject. "I thought you wanted me to listen more," contravined Bloodblossum who as you can imagine talked more than listened. "Bending your ears to every whisper and thread of gossip your young mind can grab hold of does not count as listening, now please, don't bring this up any further." "But but but," despite her protests Mistymoon would not hear of it anymore and silenced her subordinate with a quick glare and a barring of her teeth.
"Alright everypony are we ready to have some fun?!" Unreal was not in the least bit sarcastic in his glee, while he was not overly fond of troublesome formalities he was eager to introduce himself to the various nobles and dignitaries there; to him, his and his families' honor was all that mattered. "I think you need to redirect your enthusiasm to something more practical Major Unreal," commented Mistymoon, but after turning her attention to the poor storage of her beloved armor her corrective nature turned to disappointment, "and look at this. You stored my armor in a dirty brown sack?" Rolling his eyes at Mistymoon's complaints Unreal lifted her helmet and placed it on her head while she attached her iron boots to her hooves and knuckles on her elbows. "See no harm done," said Unreal strapping on his javelin, "you and Captain need to lighten up a bit. I mean look at Bloodblossum, she's not complaining," directing the attention away from him and to the young recruit who was donning her quiver and readying her crossbow. "That's because shiny doesn't make you or your weapon stronger, so, whatever is whatever is what I always say," agreed a smiling Bloodblossum, "let's just suit up and get going, the night is young and we've got to get goin!" "For once I agree with you Private Bloodblossum," said Mistymoon." "Oh wait wait wait!" Unreal suddenly exclaimed, "let's do the cheer thing you guys c'mon we've gotta do the cheer! C'mon Captain let's break it out!" "Ugh, fine fine," reluctantly Captain Antiflux put his arm around Mistymoon to his right who then put her arm around Bloodblossum who then put her arm around Unreal then his arm around Antiflux in turn. "I can't believe you're making me do this," groaned Antiflux, "from the tip of our blade to the moon high in the sky let danger quiver before TROOP KURABI!" "Yea funky!" ribbed Bloodblossum shoving Unreal jokingly. Unreal's face turned livid red and his voice rose in fury "SHUTUP!"
