>You look out the window and into the courtyard and recognize your ponies
>They are all sitting at a table, playing cards
>You walk out the door and head to their table
"Hey boys"
>They turn around and look at you
>Three of them stand up and salute you
>One mare was in a wheelchair
>You salute them back
>"Lieutenant Amber, It's great to see you"
>A mare says with a cigarette floating in front of her face
Are cigarettes okay? Or are they not made yet
"I just wanted to see how my ponies are doing"
>Another mare speaks up
>"We were more worried about you Lieutenant. We saw you get tagged"
>You show them the stitches on your hip
"Just another battle scar. Nothing to go home and cry about...So how are all of you feeling?"
>From what Shining told you, most of the injuries were minor
>"Well Amber, I have to say, my neck really fucking hurts"
>He presents you his neck and you see a few stitches on the right side
"Jeez, that looked like a close call"
>You turn to the other ponies
>"I'm fine, my hoof is just a little sore"
>You look and see she has a cast on her foot
>She's the one in the wheelchair
"How long do you have to stay in the chair?"
>"Just another week or so, not too bad"
>You nod your head and look to the next two
>They both show you their injuries, which don't look that bad
>Just some stitches and bandages
>After catching up with the injuries you pull a chair up and sit with them
>"So Amber, when we getting back in?"
>The mare in the wheelchair said
>You look back down at the table
"I'm taking a temporary leave to deal with some personal shit"
>"Really Lieutenant? For how long?"
"I'm not sure yet...I'll be back, don't worry"
>After some catching up and small talk about their wounds the conversation drifts to the ponies who were K.I.A
>"Yeah Amber, it's like, sometimes I still see them"
"They were good ponies...They didn't deserve to go like that"
>The whole table goes quiet for a few seconds
>Like an unspoken moment of silence
>"At least they went out fighting. That's how they would've wanted to go"
>One of them starts to chuckle
>She points to the sky
>"I bet you they're up there right now, laughing. 'Look at these little pussies down there, taking a break. They wouldn't even last with Falco's company!'
>You all join together in a laugh
>Man, you wish you were in a bar right now
>This would be so much easier with a drink
"Once you guys are out of this prison, we need to pass a bottle around"
>"Amen to that Lieutenant"
>You reminisce about your buddies until you have to go
"Sorry guys, but I have to go. Shining wants to talk with me about what happened"
>A couple of ponies giggle
"What's so funny?"
>One tries to hold back a chuckle
>"I hope Shining's gentle in bed Amber, he's a big stallion"
>The rest start to laugh
"Oh HAHA. You fuckers know it's not like that"
>"Suuuurrrreee it's not. Enjoy him Amber"
"You sickos he's married to a princess"
>"Even better! A Ménage à trois!"
>You just shake your head and let them finish their laughing
"I'll see you tools later. Feel better, and save a beer for me!"
>"Will do, have fun with Shining"
>They start to laugh again and you walk away with a little smile on your face
>It's good they are laughing and taking it so well
>It actually makes you feel a lot better
>But you also feel pretty bad for taking your leave
>But like you said, you would be back
>Now you are on your way to the Royal Military base
>You walk through the city at a brisk pace
>While walking, you think about Maple
>What's she doing, how she's feeling, if she's okay or not
>You think about Maple a lot
>She is your only sibling
>You feel like it's your job to protect her
>It doesn't feel like a job though
>You genuinely enjoy hanging out with her
>Whether it's watching a movie or playing basketball, you just like being around her
>You hope your talk with Twilight goes somewhere today
>The whole thing with Dash last night was a mistake
>She was one of your closer friends
>You don't blame her for not stopping you
>You were both drunk
>You don't even know why you did what you did
>You don't even like mare...
>Although, with a mare it seems a lot more gentler
>Not that you didn't enjoy a good hard rutting
>But you think it might feel...better with a mare
>Mares are so much more soft and gentle
>They won't be selfish
>They won't try to use you
>It'd be more romantic
>Maybe there isn't anything wrong with liking mares...
>As the base comes up ahead you shake the thoughts out of your head
>You have to be focused for this
>You walk to the gates and swipe your access card across the sensor
>The gates open up for you revealing the titanous structures and vehicles
>You see armored train cars, armored wagons and a bunch of other toys
>Soldiers are marching around with crossbows hanging from their holders
>A bunch of green tents with the Royal Military logo painted on it
>You feel honored to know you are wart of this
>You walk in and head to the directory
>You open the door to the giant, white building
>A guard stops you
>"Name and Business Ma'am"
"Lieutenant Amber Grain reporting for a meeting with Shining Armor"
>He checks his clipboard in front of him
>"Third room on the right Lieutenant, he'll be in there"
"Thank you sir"
>You follow his directions and go to the third room on the right
>Two more Guards are standing there
>"Lieutenant Amber? Number please"
>You recite your Royal Military number to them
"ARM24601"
>They nod there heads and open the door for you
>You enter a dark room with monitors all around you
>The monitors have video playing of the outside of the base
>You see ponies walking by
>Carriages moving along the roads
>In the middle of the room is big, metallic desk
>Sitting on one side is Shining Armor
>He is looking down at a clipboard in front of him
>He looks up at you
>"Hey Amber, please take a seat"
>You walk over to the table and sit across from him
"Hey Shining. So are you just gonna ask me questions? I still have to meet with the families later"
>"Actually, the families are not gonna be available tonight. They are meeting with Celestia. I'll let you know when you can speak to them. But as of now, I would like less ponies to know about the situation"
>Although you believe that ponies should know exactly what happened already, you follow your orders
>"First, can you retell what happened from your point of view?"
"Sure"
>You lean back in the chair and think
>You recall the moments leading up to the attack
"Captain Anchor called me into his office. He said that there were possible smugglers in the 3rd district. He told me that since Abel's squad was in Manehattan, that me and my ponies had to check out the situation. He told me that they might have weapons and that we should be cautious. At around 15 hundred hours we were leaning up on our destination. We might have been around a mile away from the initial coordinates but still around halfway to the checkpoint when we were ambushed. We weren't ready at all. I should've been more prepared, had the squads heads ready. I saw a pony come up from behind a rock. We called him out, trying to question him from a distance. I heard one of my mares yell that there was a target to my 9 o'clock. By the time I turned to see, I was hit. I felt a sharp pain by my flank and my hip. I collapsed and started to feel light headed. Private Grass was able to cover me up and protect me. But after that I went black"
>He wrote most of what you said down on the clipboard
>"Okay. Thanks for being in detail. Are you sure you didn't recognize the pony from behind the rock?"
>You think hard back to him
"He was too far away for me to make an I.D, but I could tell he was a stallion."
>He writes more down on the clipboard
>He bites on the pencil before asking you another question
>"And you said that Private Grass covered you?"
"Yes, definitely. He was the closest one to me"
>After 30 minutes and a bunch of questions he finally has all the information he needs
>"Thank you for your time Amber. I have a chariot outside that will take you back to Ponyville"
"It's no problem...The least I can do"
>You give him a hug and leave the room
>You walk outside the directory and get onto the Silver chariot
>Once safely on, the two pegasi fly you back towards Ponyville
>Once back at Ponyville you fly up to Dash's house
>As you expected, she's not there
>But she gave you a set of keys if you want to get something that you left there
>Once inside you walk to your bag of shit
>You take off your jacket and and fold it nicely
>You don't usually like to wear your Jacket around town
>You place it in the bag and pull out a bandana
>The bandana is red, white, and blue with stars on it
>Pretty soon you will have to pull your scarf from the attack, but for now, the bandana is a good accessory to wear
>Using your wings and front hooves, you fold it carefully and tie it around your neck
>You lock the door as you leave and fly back down to the ground
>That's when a thought pops into your head
>Maybe you should fly by the forest to go say hi to Maple
>You're sure that would make her happy
>It would only be for 5 minutes
>Before you meet up with Twilight at the library
>You make a decision and take off towards the forest
 
>Large Maple trees are zooming by under you
>Like an eagle, you spot a pony working in the forest
>You fly all the way back down to the ground
>Once at the ground you approach the mare
>It's not Maple, but her boss
"Hey Ms. Floret, do you know where Maple is?"
>She turns around and greets you
>"Hey Amber, she should be in the west part of the forest clearing the buckets"
"Thanks Floret"
>Before you take off she speaks up again
>"How are you feeling...You know, with your injury and stuff"
>You turn back around
"I'm feeling better actually. Thanks for asking"
>"Just saying, you can get free Maple syrup whenever you want. It's a new policy for Military ponies"
"That's really kind of you. I'll remember this"
>You give her a smile and wave goodbye as you fly off to see Maple
>You slowly fly towards the west fields
>After a few minutes of flying you finally see a red mane, with a beanie
>You fly to the grounds and quietly land behind her
>She is facing a tree with a bucket in her mouth
>You decide it would be funny if you try to scare her
>Carefully, you sneak up behind her
>Once a foot behind her plot, you grab her flanks and yell really loud
"BOOOO!"
>Before you get to see her reaction you see her spin around in a split second
>BOOM
>She clocks you in the face with the bucket of syrup
>You feel the bevy bucket strike your head and you fall down
>You grab your head with your hooves
"Oww...My head"
>"Amber! Are you okay?!?"
>She manages to help you back on your feet
"Jeez Maple, that fucking hurt"
>She doesn't even reply to you
>You just see a shitty grin make it's way onto her face
>She starts to burst out laughing
>You keep rubbing your head
"What's so funny?"
>She manages to speak up
>"Your covered in syrup Hahaha!"
>You put your hooves onto your face and feel a sticky resistance
>Feels familiar to another sticky resistance...one that a stallion produces
>That was also on your face at one point
>But that's another story for another day
>You pull your hooves away and look at them
>They are covered in brown syrup
>Suddenly, you begin to chuckle a bit
>After the two of you calm down Maple speaks up
>"There's a creek, not to far from here, if you wanna wash off"
"Yeah, I also wanted to talk to you about your meeting with Twilight"
>She looks back at the ground
>"Sure, I'll tell you when your washing off"
>You walk behind your sister towards the stream
>The sound of running water get's louder
>You see a slowly moving stream coming up behind a few trees
>"Here we are"
>You nod your head and walk towards the stream
>"Wait, let me take your bandana"
>She uses her magic and unties it around your neck and levitates it onto a branch
"Thanks"
>You put a hoof in the water to check the temperature
>Holy shit that's cold
"Damn Maple, why is the water so cold?"
>She points to a mountain in the distance
>Snow covers the top of it
>"It's runoff from the mountains"
>Fuck, this is gonna be cold
>You could fly back to the house, but then you wouldn't be able to talk to Maple, which was the whole intention of coming here
>You let out an exhale and walk into the freezing river
>You work your way in slowly
>Letting your hooves, then legs adjust to the water
>Once your legs get used to the water, you plunge a little deeper
>The cold water hits your mare hood and you freeze up
>You let out a yelp as the cold water brushes on you
"Th-this...it soo cold"
>You start to shiver in the freezing cold water
>It takes a while for you to adjust again
>Theres only one way to clean off your face
>You duck your entire head into the crystal clear water
>Unknowingly raising your plot in the air
>Free for anyone to see
>Only if you could see what you looked like
>A shock wave of wintry shivers runs through your body
>Trying to get it done you wipe your hooves over your face and attempt to scrape off any syrup that remained
>After getting most of it off you take your head out of the water
>You turn around and look at Maple
>She looks at you, but like she's daydreaming
>like she was staring at something
"Maple?"
>She hears your voice and shakes her head
>Like she snapped out of her funk
>She looks at you
>"What?"
"Oh, you were spaced out"
>She shakes her head again
>"Sorry...Long day"
>You walk out of the stream
"Facts"
>You feel so cold
>You be
>Once out of the stream you yourself dry
>You still know you have some syrup on your face but Twilight won't mind
"So, do you wanna talk about your meeting with Twilight now?"
>"Yeah, but let's go to the lodge...You seem cold"
>Well, you are shivering
"Do you guys have hot chocolate there?"
>She smiles
>"Yes, we have hot chocolate there, and a warm blanket
 
 
>Once back at the lodge, Maple sets you up with a warm cup of hot chocolate and a cozy blanket
>You wrap the blanket around you and sit on the couch
>She levitates the hot chocolate in front of your face and tilts it towards you
>You take a small sip from the cup in front of you
>She places the cup onto the table in front of you and moves onto the couch next to you
"So, do you wanna talk?"
>"Yeah. You want to know about my meeting with Twilight?"
"Yeah, how did it go?"
>She looks up and smiles a bit
>"It went...pretty well actually"
"That's so good to hear! But, what did you two talk about?"
>She levitates your hot chocolate up to her face and takes a sip
>"Well, I told her about what happened with me and you...while you were sleeping"
>You nod your head, remembering the moment
>The only part that mad you feel upset, was how she was gonna use you
>But you already told yourself that she didn't plan on doing it
>That it was just a spontaneous thing
>"I told her about how I felt about it...I told her about what I did the day before..."
>The day before?
"What do you mean the day before?"
>"...I didn't tell you?"
>You shake your head
"Not that I remember. What happened?"
>She takes a breath in
>"The day before you came home from the hospital, remember how I came late with your food"
>The memory comes back into your mind
"Yeah, I do remember that"
>She takes another breath in
>"I had a dream...It wasn't like my normal dreams about hockey of baseball. It was about a stallion"
>You think you hear her wrong
"A stallion?"
>"...Yeah. Well, when I woke up, I felt so...different. I felt wet...down there. I didn't know what it meant, so I started to feel myself, by my mare hood. It felt really weird, but good at the same time. But after a while I felt something happen, and then I...I, uh 'finished'..."
>Maple masturbating...
>You didn't know the mare had it in her
"And that was before the incident"
>She looks back down to the hot cocoa in front of her
>"Yeah, that was before"
>You nod your head
"I see...Did you talk about anything else?"
>"Not really, those were the two big things...I told her how you would be sleeping at Dash's house for a little while"
>You wait a few seconds before adding another question
"Did it help?"
>She looks at you
>"Definitely, it helped a lot"
>You get up from the couch
"Well, I should get going then