//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Dog Life- Canterlot // by Artuynh //------------------------------// //Throne Room\\ "You shall remain in the castle and aid our forces with every bit of information you have about the changelings. You shall have two guards one day and one night they shall be with you at all times. If the changeling threat comes to pass you shall be pardoned off all crimes and receive whatever compensation you deem needed before you are banished to a neighboring country of your choice. If however there is no invasion of changelings within the next 5 years you shall be bound and publically executed your body shall remain rotting until the crows devour it as testament to what shall befall all who try to deceive me. Guards take mister BOB to a guest chamber and inform the night guard that one of them is to be assigned to the Diamond Dog also inform Shining Armor to assign a day guard." And so it was that Bob having heard his sentence was levitated outside the throne room by Iron Hide and promptly handed off to another guard. "You door guard. You are to take this mutt and put him in a room he is not to leave your sight. I need to go see captain Armor about reassigning some guard to him permanently." -The door guard levitated the dog in his green magic before the first guard.( Its at this point that Bob should have noticed the magic aura and tried to speak up or do something but he was too preoccupied wondering if Chrysalis's attack is in more than 5 years and if he can figure out a way to escape or at least convince Celestia he was telling the truth so she would just declare him innocent give him the money and let him go. Heck he completely lied about the pack and about their slaves not being ponies so he was pretty happy that his human knowledge saved his life after being the reason he was almost clawed to death when he was a pup.) "Um sir isn't this the dog from that burrow we got? Why didn't the princess just kill him and be done with it?" The soldier asked perplexed. "Because guard the mutt convinced the princess that we are under threat of being attacked by something called changeling and the mutt claims he knows how to fight them. Now go do what I told you or I will have you running laps around the castle until your next shift." Iron Hide said despising the fact a lower ranked guard dared to question him regardless how odd the situation. "I swear first it was those testrals now a dog. What's next? Griffin ambassadors being allowed rooms in the castle. What is the princess even thinking?" Iron Hide muttered to himself as he left to find Shining Armor. All the while not noticing the frozen in place guard. "Hey newbie chill that's just Iron Hide making treats he won't follow up on any of them unless he knows your name and I am pretty sure he doesn't." The other door guard said snapping the first from his thoughts. "Ha ha yeah well I got ta go put this mutt in a cell .You heard the orders." the first guard said with a nervous smile. "Wait didn't Iron just tell you to take him to a room?" The second guard asked confused. "Well the dog is tied up and I am supposed to watch him and we aren't allowed in the guest rooms so he obviously meant for me to take him to the dungeons." The first guard said now visibly sweating. "....Yeah I can see that." the second guard finally said with a shrug as the first one visibly relaxed and left running. "Heh Newbies always trying to work hard never realizing their shift wont end any sooner." The second guard said to himself in the empty hallway. //Day wing of the castle -Shining's office\\ Iron Hide walked into Shining's office without knocking. "So Iron is the princess going to help us retake our barracks?" Shining asked a little ticked that Iron didn't knock. "What? Oh uh I haven't asked her yet but more importantly-" Iron began to say but was interrupted by a furious Shining. "More importantly! More importantly! Listen here Drill instructor Hide I went on a 1 month mandatory vacation thinking you and the other guards can hold things in check while I was away. Only to come back to a foreign force occupying half the castle including our training grounds, my sister being a pawn in the princesses schemes and being ordered to remain in the most dangerous town in Equestria where she was forced to deal with dragons, griffons, zebras and most reacently diamond dogs. I gave you one task. ONE! Go to the princess during court and request we be allowed to re-take the training grounds or at least some sort of agreement is reached where we can use them to train our guards. You were allowed to skip watch so that you could do just that so explain to me what is so important that you can skip doing your job drill instructor Hide?" Shining finished throbbing at the mouth while staring at a backing away Iron Hide. "U-um the P-Princess ordered me to have the diamond dog we captured to a guest chamber and have you assign a day guard to him as well as have one of the bat ponies watch him during the night. Apparently he has some information about a potential threat and the princess has decided to pardon him in exchange for the information." Shining couldn't believe his ears he and the guards had finally been able to do their job by whipping out the evil dogs and now the one dog they had captured to be sentenced for the crimes and be publically executed was going to go free and potentially capture more ponies. In this moment something broke in him. "AAAAAAAAAAAAH" Shining screemed as he knocked Iron Hide into the door with enough magic force to break the door and send both Iron and the door crashing into the wall in the corridor. Iron fell unconscious shortly after with a few broken ribs. "Is everything alright captain?" Root Shield one of the new recruits and currently the only earth pony in the royal guards asked as he poked his head trough the hole that was once the door he was tasked with guarding. What he saw inside was Shining taking in big gulps of air and letting them out slowly as he moved one of his hoves in a relaxing manner . "Oh. Yes and you are just the pony I wanted. You go to princess Luna and tell her that princess Celestia has requested one of her night guards to watch the diamond dog we captured during the night you will be assigned watching the mutt during the day. Now if you'll excuse me I need to take Iron here to the medical ward and then go to the princess for my punishment for nearly killing a royal guard without provocation." Shining said in a monotone voice as he walked past Root and proceeded to levitate the unconscious form of Iron away leaving a speechless Root Shield behind. "Wait. What?" Root said to the empty hall as he realized he was tasked with going into the night wing of the castle and every day guard that went near left bruised regardless in they managed to get an audience with princess Luna.