Millennia: Beginning

Summary
In Ponyville, 19-year old Star Shooter speaks to a recruiter about enlisting in the Lunar Marines. He agrees and signs up, and is set to report to Manehattan in a few days time. He returns to Canterlot where he decides to leave early, but not before saying goodbye to his upstairs neighbor.

The next day, Star boards a train to Manehattan where he takes some time to explore the city prior to reporting to the naval station across the river in the north parts of the city. He comes across a guard at the front gate and is taken in after proving he is a recruit, and he is officially granted to stay in the barracks. He then goes to an on-base surplus store where he is given a training uniform and returns to his designated barrack. There, after settling in, he is lectured by the drill instructor for a brief minute and then goes to sleep for the night.

The following morning, long before sunrise, Star and the others occupying the barrack are awoken by the same drill instructor and are brought outside to begin their long two and a half months in training, beginning with track running. Star makes it to just over seventy laps around the track before passing out. He wakes up in a medical center on-base and learns of others suffering similarly to him and is let go that same day. When he wakes up the following morning, he finds himself nearly unable to move from the day before. He is taken outside with the rest of the conscripts and they are forced to perform one hundred push ups, sit ups, and crunches--each. Struggling to reach one hundred, Star is confronted by the drill instructor and is sprayed with cold water to motivate him. Unfortunately, he is not able to complete the amount of push ups in time but advances.

At lunch, he meets Silver Edge, a Navy recruit who is shy to begin with. They sit down and get to know each other and quickly become friends. That same day, Silver comes to Star asking if he could sleep in his barrack for the night. Star agrees, despite it not being his call, and the two make it back just as a rainstorm rolls in. The next morning, they go out for more track running but come across a large round mud pit instead, Star getting stuck and falling behind but not before managing to slip free and continue with the help of a unicorn watching from the side. Then, after a break, they return to more exercises before completing another successful day of training.

(Finished summary will come when the story is complete.)

Characters
Supposedly Star's father is former military and was always harsh on him up until he left. His influence to enlist in the Marines could be a way to impress his father, knowing no other way would.
 * Star Shooter: A 19-year old dark blue pegasus with a lighter-blue mane and red eyes. He originates from a city named Coltlumbus and left at a young age to start a new, better life away from his parents in Canterlot. Later on, he enlists for the Lunar Marines and is then stationed in Manehattan with a position, on deployment, on board the L.R.S Eclipse, a massive aircraft carrier run by the Lunar Navy.


 * Solar Wave: A 17-year old light yellow unicorn with an orange mane. He was skittish during boot camp but slowly grew to the terms of it and life in the military. He is constantly picked on for his name while being under Luna's side of the military.

According to Silver in chapter 4, his youngest uncle is a Chief petty officer aboard the L.R.S Gibbous, a Lunar Navy Destroyer ship. Also in chapter 9, he claims to have never met his mother. When he first met Star, he was nervous, but quickly warmed up to him and others when he advanced in boot camp.
 * Silver Edge: While older than both Star and Solar, he still is both of their friends and would do anything to protect them both. He is a beige unicorn with a grey-and-silver striped mane, which is where his name comes from. He is from Las Haygas. He is a trainee for the Lunar Navy, but along the way, he is mistaken for a Marine and graduates with Star.


 * Ashfall: A muscular military-green earth pony and a Corporal in the Lunar Marines on the verge of promotion. He is Anchorage's best friend, though the two argue a lot like siblings. Of all of them, he is the tallest and most well-built, and supposedly the oldest. He claims to have a marefriend, but Anchorage, likely joking, corrects him and says he has a coltfriend. It is unknown which is true at this time.


 * Anchorage: A white-grey pegasus with light blue eyes and a dark blue mane, as well as a Petty Officer 3rd Class in the Lunar Navy. He speaks with a northern accent and argues frequently with Ashfall, but over all, the two are best friends. He corrects Ashfall by saying he has a coltfriend rather than a marefriend, which is most likely military banter.
 * Hardstaff: A night-blue pegasus with blue eyes and a black mane, and a sergeant in the Lunar Marines as well as Star's part time trainer during boot camp. During training, him and Star developed a friendship which explains why he isn't as hard on him like the others.
 * Shadow: A greenish-grey earth pony with a brown mane (eye color unknown) and the commanding officer aboard the L.R.S. Eclipse, the largest aircraft carrier in the Lunar Fleet and the ship Star is stationed on during deployments. In the story, it is revealed that him and Star knew each other long before he enlisted, and Shadow offered him the position aboard his ship as a radarpony after graduating boot camp.
 * Arc Nobis: A grey earth pony with a black mane and purple eyes, and a lieutenant in the Lunar Marines. He is Shadow's second-in-command aboard the Eclipse. He claims to have been through many deployments and battles, and according to others, he is said to have a dark side that is revealed to a lucky few '. This may point towards him having post-traumatic stress.
 * Snow Storm: (Bio to be revealed December 2, 2015).
 * Rose Shine: (Bio to be revealed December 2, 2015).

Reception
While the story is still a work-in-progress, it has received mixed criticism on FIMFiction. Not many comments have been left on the story since it was originally posted, and the fic, as of November 2015, has 11 likes and 5 dislikes.

It is expected that the high number of dislikes come from other users believing the story is part of the overused Lunar Republic vs. Solar Empire theme with the idea of a revolution against Princess Celestia, which as stated by the author of Millennia, is not what the story is centered around at all.

Currently, the story has 179 views, and over 1,300 total views.

The story will return from its second hiatus on December 1, 2015 with two new chapters. The names of the chapters are Beneath Luna's Moon and Snow Storm. One is said to go in-depth of Star's life outside of the military, and the other will introduce possibly a new main character in the story.

Trivia

 * Millennia is the first story by the author to be written in first-person point of view.
 * According to the author, Millennia is not sharing the same timeline as most Lunar Republic vs. Solar Empire stories. Instead, he stated that in the story, which revolves around the same universe he writes most of his stories in, the New Lunar Republic and Celestia's side of the military, which does not have a name, coincide in a peaceful way while also having internal competition, much like the real-life military branches.
 * Millennia, upon completion, is expected to be the author's longest story he's ever written and has already rumored to a direct-sequel story that may come in 2016, and has said that he is interested in writing Millennia into a saga of events surrounding the main character and his military buddies.
 * Millennia is currently on its second planned hiatus and will return with two new chapters on December 1, 2015.
 * After every 10 chapters, the story goes on hiatuses until completion, meaning as of now, there is only one more planned hiatus before the story will be completed at an expected 40 chapters (not including the prologue and epilogue).
 * There was an error in the writing, and Silver Edge was not meant to be a Lunar Marine. With the story being too far progressed, this cannot be changed, and it is now assumed that Silver was mistaken for a Marine rather than a sailor some time during training, between events.