We Are the Vanguard

"You fuckin' idiot. You know this formation is supposed to be like this. You tryin' to get these soldiers killed?" "Calm down, Shiv. Despite his physical prowess, Gale isn't in here for his intellect." "...I'm gonna beat both of your asses." "Y'know if you clock both of them, you're gonna flunk your exams." Gale Streaks was never a bright bulb like Shiver Thorn. I'm not even sure his circuits were even properly connected, if you catch my drift. Even Helas Mortem had his head on straight after the last time he got chewed out by our commanding officer for giving those weird Victorian answers on the last exam. I even saw him at the castle library at some point reading actual books instead of those Lovecraftian novels he keeps trying to preach as gospel. "Gale's trying his best you guys. He's always been better at hooves-on learning. Besides, that's why I'm part of this squad. To keep him and you guys from getting killed when he runs off." "Pffft. So what if you're an abjuration specialist. If rocks for brains here could understand basic formation, you wouldn't have to waste spells when he can't FUCKIN' PAY ATTENTION." It was weird to see Gale feel bad, especially when he looked over at me. God, that always sucked. That was the look he'd always give us when the drill sergeant blasted our ears because he wasn't paying attention during drills. "Look, HeMo. Can't you use your magic to make more blood circulate to his brain or something?" "There are a lot of intricacies to blood that would make that a futile effort. You see, when you divert blood from one area to anoth..." Ugh, having to listen to another of HeMo's lectures about blood would make my own ears bleed. "Okay, okay, I get it." Seems Shiv didn't want to listen to it either. "Look dude. We're about to get deployed. You need to have this shit on LOCK, got it? We're the Vanguard. No one to hide behind and run to." "Don't listen to him, Gale. Even though he's right about having no one to hide behind, we don't need to cause we're always covering each other's sixes." "...Sixes?" "...That means our backs, Gale." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I always appreciated Gale. He was a simple lad from Appleloosa. Tough as nails sure, but maybe the hammer had hit the nail one too many times. He always said he loved his family and his cousins and the little ones back home. A real family stallion. When he wasn't bogged down with being tutored, I'd always catch him getting some of the other guys to play some hoofball by the barracks. He couldn't tell you any plays or what the down was or even remember the score half the time, but when that pigskin snapped into his hooves, I swear I could see the hamster in his head start to fly at light speed. I was amazed by his depth of vision, his ability to analyze and adjust on the field. Touchdown. Magical. If only he could convert that mentality when he was doing drills. I never really joined in their games. I was shit at it to be honest, and lessons with the shield specialists caused my schedule to differ to the others. But I'd come by to watch their pick-up games after being dismissed by the young protege, Shining Armor. Heard he was the brother of Celestia's pupil. Guess good genes run deep in their family. "Hey Ames!" I hated that nickname at first. Gale's personality got me to think otherwise. "We're about to start up a new game. You want in?" "Unless they're allowing magic, I'll pass dude. You know I suck at hoofball." "Aww c'mon man. They'll go easy on ya!" That was far from the truth. I learned that the last time. "Nah gotta pass this time around. Armor's gonna put me in the dirt if I don't look over these briefs." "Alright, man. I'll catch ya on the flip! Tell HeMo and Shiv I'll catch them in the mess later." I watched him get back to the game before looking down at all my documents. I wonder if there was ever a time I wasn't holding stacks of paper since being recruited into the Shield program. The program was recently instated after the last war had an exponential growth in casualties on the front line. Now led by Shining Armor, the head abjurer and honestly the youngest of us, he taught us what it meant to be a Vanguard Shield. 'They are the sword, you are the shield. While one can fight without the other, together they form the Vanguard.' A simple little mantra. Probably made up to give us something inspirational to think. But that's what our job was. To protect the advancing front line from excessive assault. We knew we couldn't save everyone, but we were going to try our hardest. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "To err is only pony. Such is the fate of one who loses focus for but a moment..." "Shut the fuck up, HeMo. You're such a drama queen." "Fuck fuck...If I pulled up the barrier in time..." "Still your voice, Amity. If not for you, my life would have been doused like a candle lit flame under the falling rain." "Guys, he's fine. It's a fuckin' flesh wound." That was quite off-character for Shiv, trying to comfort us, but mostly me. He must be really scared, too. "Listen, we gotta get back with the rest of the battery. We're pushed up way too far and I ain't fuckin' cleanin' up any more wounds. You can stand, right HeMo?" "The darkness inside me wishes to be freed, but I will condemn him deep within me to push on." "Wait. Where's Gale?" I could feel the color flush from my face. Everyone's did. And the worst part was we couldn't call out to him. We couldn't give away our position. "Fuck fuck FUCK. That fuckin' idiot! He broke formation in the first place! Where the FUCK did he run off to." "Shiv...I'm gonna go out and find him." "LIKE HELL YOU ARE. HE'S THE REASON WE'RE IN THIS MESS. HE'S THE REAS-" That was the first time I'd ever seen HeMo punch Shiv in the face. "Amity will find him, Shiv. If anyone can, he can." "...You better come back with him, Amity. I swear to fuckin' Celestia." I can only think of one other time I've ever ran as fast as I have now. Just like then, lives were on the line. The rubble of buildings were just obstacles as I scanned high and low and as quick as I could. Why did Gale have to run off? I stopped quickly as I heard pebbles tap against the floors of a demolished building. I stayed flush against the walls, my horn glowing as I coated my entire body in pure defensive magic. One peek. Clear. I stepped inside the ground floor, approaching and scanning slowly. Anything, everything. "...Gale?" I softly called out. I knew it could've been a mistake but something...Something wasn't right. Gale was an idiot, sure, but he'd never abandon the squad. He wouldn't break formation like that. So why...What was that? I froze in place, ears perked up as I heard it. Quiet. Softly echoing off the rubble. Crying? I began to approach slowly towards the sound, stopping at a hallway. I hate hallways. Another sound. I pressed up against the wall of the hallway before crouching down. One...Two? Two fast movers flying overhead. Ally? Enemy? Whatever it was, it only passed by. I stopped right by one of the doorways. I could hear the soft sniffling and crying. I peeked inside slowly. ...A foal? I immediately rushed forward into the room, expecting to be lit up. Nothing happened. "What are you doing here, kid?" I had no choice but to call out to him but when he saw me. When I saw into his eyes. I froze. Blood everywhere. He quickly turned to look down at a pile of rubble before he scampered off. I still know nothing about that kid to this day. I approached the rubble slowly, the pool of blood getting larger the closer I got. I could feel the pit in my stomach growing deeper. Wheezing. Breathing. I needed to know. I needed to confirm. I needed to get closer. I wish I had never gotten any closer. "...H-Hey Ames...I knew you had my six..." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I knew I couldn't save everyone But I really tried my hardest.