Eternal Love, Life, and Death

by Fiction Quill

Lesson's About Being A Royal Guard

Lance, Twilight, Spike, and Starlight were all coming up on the castle. The castle seemed a lot bigger in person than it did in the show. In fact a lot of things seem slightly different than what they were from the show. Nothing that changes any big important details, only that certain things seemed smaller or bigger than they did in the show. As Lance and the others approached the castle one of the guards seemed a bit on edge. Lance has seen this stallion plenty of times from the show. It was Flash Sentry and he seemed to be very wary of Lance, but still seemed happy to see Twilight, which caused Lance to feel a bit jealous.

"Hey Twilight! Good to see you how have you been?" Flash lightly bowed and smiled warmly which caused Twilight to blush very lightly.

"I am great Flash. I am sorry to cut this conversation short but me and my friends need to see Shining Armor and Cadence." Flash lifted his
brow as he looked at Lance.

"Even this... thing?" Lance sighed as Spike and Starlight looked at him with sympathy. Twilight on the other hand became agitated at Flash's words.

"He is not a thing Flash! He might look strange but he is my friend and soon to be the captain of my royal guard so I would appreciate it if you did not disrespect him!" Flash took a step back while Lanced looked on bewildered that Twilight raised her voice at Flash like that.

"I-I’m sorry Twilight but as you said he is strange and we haven't seen anything like him. I am just trying to protect you and the citizens and the rulers of the crystal empire." Twilight sighed.

"I understand that Flash but that still doesn't change that fact that you were rude and if you should be apologizing to someone you should be apologizing to him." Twilight pointed at Lance and Flash nodded in understanding.

"I apologize Mr?" Lance chuckled.

"It's Lance and Apology accepted." Flashed nodded and let Lance and the others through.

As they were walking down the halls Starlight caught a glimpse of Sunburst and began to excitedly wave to him. Sunburst spotted Starlight and happily waved back before he ran ahead of his trainee's and gave her a hug. Lance's heart melted at the sight and could tell that they like each other but he was sure neither of them knew that the other one like them. Sunburst gave a little small talk but had to leave after being introduced to Lance so he could put his trainees through training. One of the trainees in particular kept eyeballing Lance. Lance could see that this pony definitely did not like him. Lance knew there was going to be some who didn't so he just shrugged it off, not caring. Little did Lance know that the pony eyeballing him was Roman in disguise and now that Roman's suspicions of Lance's survival were confirmed Roman knew he would have to be extra careful not to give himself away now.

Twilight was happily trotting ahead with Spike while Lance walked a little behind with Starlight. Starlight was staring longingly at Sunburst as he was walking away. Lance nudged her a little and she looked at him confused as he gave her a knowing smirk.

"What?" Lance chuckled.

"Don't try to play dumb. I can already tell you have feelings for Sunburst." Starlight blushed heavily.

"Y-You could tell?" Lance laughed.

"I’m actually surprised Twilight hasn't caught on. If you like him, why don't you tell him?" Starlight sighed.

"If only it was that simple. What if he doesn't like me back and if he does where do we go from there?" Lance shook with head with a small smile.

"If he doesn't like you like that then I promise you that you two can still be friends. If he does like you then try going out on a few dates and see where it goes from there. Love isn't something that needs to be rushed. Just take your time and enjoy the time you spend together." Starlight smiles dreamily in Sunburst's direction.

"Your right. Thank you Lance." Lance smile.

"You’re welcome Starlight. Now what's say we catch back up with Twilight? I am sure we’ll be approaching the throne room any minute now." Starlight giggled and nodded as they ran to catch up with Twilight and Spike.

After a few more minutes of walking Lance, Twilight, Spike, and Starlight came up to the throne room where Shining Armor and Cadence were reading some documents. Cadence stopped reading for a moment and spotted Twilight.

"Twilight!" Both Twilight and Cadence ran up to each other and did their special friendship dance that Lance knew and loved from the show.

"Sunshine! Sunshine! Ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!" Both Twilight and Cadence said in unison and hugged afterwards. Shining Armor also saw Twilight and Spike. While Twilight was hugging Cadence Spike went up to greet Shining Armor.

"Hey Shining!" Shining Armor smiled and pulled spike into a hug.

"Hey little bro how have you been?" Spike beamed as he returned the hug.

"I’ve been great. I brought along some new comics we can read together!" Shining Armor smiled.

"Sounds awesome. I am looking forward to it." Shining Armor then turned to Twilight and gave her a hug.

"How have you been BBBFF?" Shining chuckled.

"I have been great Twiley and you?" Twilight beamed.

"I have been great Shining! I have a new friend I want to introduce you both to." Twilight gestures to Lance. Lance waves and smiles at them. Both Cadence and Shining Armor gawked at him for a few moments but then smiled as they both approached him.

"Hello Lance. It’s nice to meet you." Lance looked at them strangely.

"Wait how do you know about me?" They both chuckled.

"My aunt's Celestia and Luna have told us about you ahead of time. To spare us the shock." Lance crossed his arms and looked a bit annoyed.

"Darn those two. Spoiled my fun!" Everyone began to laugh, including Lance.

"We were quite surprised though when they told us the story. You should have seen Shining's reaction when they told us.” Cadence giggled.

"I still can't believe that we are just a fictional show for entertainment in your dimension." Lance shrugged.

"My world would say the same thing about your dimension being real." Twilight walked and stood beside Lance.

"At least that prevented a long explanation." Twilight's stomach began to grumble.

"I’m so sorry you all must be hungry. Come let’s get you all a snack to tide you over until dinner and don't worry Lance we know you don't eat grass so we will get you some fruits." Lance nodded.

"Thank you Princess." Cadence smiled.

"Just call me Cadence. Any friend of Twilight's is a friend of mine." Lance smiled back as they followed Shining and Cadence.

Instead of eating in the dining hall they grabbed their snacks and headed to Shining Armor's and Cadence's reading room for some peace and quiet. Shining and Cadence loved the Crystal Empire and their citizens but when it came to family, they didn't want to be disturbed unless it was a dire emergency. Twilight enjoyed being here as well but she and Lance was here for more than to visit Cadence and Shining Armor.

"By the way Shining Lance was wondering if you could give him some lessons on being a royal guard. You see Lance is going to be the Captain of my royal guard and he wants to make sure he is prepared. Just don't go too hard on him. He is still recovering from his injuries." Shining smirked at Lance.

"That's very admirable of you. I’ll teach you what I know." Lance smiled appreciatively. Cadence whispers in Twilight's ear.

"What about Flash Sentry? Didn't you want to make him the Captain of your royal guard? So he can be close to you because you had feelings for him" Twilight blushed.

"Well he is cute Cadence but I don't feel for him that way anymore. Plus Lance needs the position more than Flash does." Cadence gave a knowing smirk to Twilight.

"If you say so Twilight. He certainly does look like he would make an excellent captain for your guard." Twilight sighed dreamily as she looked longingly at Lance.

"Yes he does." Lance looked at Twilight confusingly. Twilight realized that Lance had caught her staring and looked away blushing heavily as Cadence giggled.

"Well, I need to take Flurry Heart to her friend’s. Do you want to come along Twilight? Lance can begin his lessons and training with Shining so he can work up an appetite for tonight and I am sure Spike and Starlight can help him as well." Twilight nodded as she left the castle with Cadence.

While on their way to their destination Twilight still had a deep blush from what recently happened. Cadence rolled her eyes and smiled.

"So Twilight, is Lance the reason why you don't have feelings for Flash anymore?" Twilight’s blush deepened even more.

"Yes... I can't help it Cadence. I know it might seem wrong because we are two difference species from two different dimensions but even so it just feels so... right." Cadence chuckled.

"That's how love works Twilight and to be fairly honest. It doesn't matter that he is human and you are pony. There is no law against interracial relationships and they aren't frowned upon either except by those Canterlot snobs." Twilight giggled.

"I wouldn't say I love him... yet but I do have a crush on him for sure. He is sweet, kind and funny... And he enjoys my lectures." Cadence looked at Twilight with amazement.

"He can actually stay awake during your lectures? I’m impressed." Cadenced jokingly retorted and Twilight playfully shoved her.

"Cadence!" They both began to laugh.

"I am sorry Twilight. It’s not that your lectures are bad they just aren't very entertaining but at least you do actually try to teach." Twilight nodded.

"Me and Lance have had a few study sessions together and every time we do he pays attention to me and never goofs around or falls asleep. He makes me feel appreciated but more importantly the attention he gives me makes me feel special." Cadence hugged Twilight.

"I am happy for you Twilight. Now you just need to tell him how you feel. If he hasn't already figured it out from your staring." Twilight began to fidget.

"I am afraid to Cadence. What if he doesn't like me that way?" Cadence sighed.

"I understand how you feel Twilight. If you can just give him subtle hints. He will catch on eventually. I can tell he is smart like you and if he does like you back he will confess when he figures it out. Unless you end up getting the courage and telling him first." Twilight nodded as they continued to their destination.

Back at the castle Shining Armor was sending Lance through an obstacle course. Lance may need to recover but he wouldn't recover as well if he didn't get the proper exercise. As long as Lance didn't push it he would be fine. Shining Armor blew his whistle.

"Alright Lance let's take 5." Lance nodded as he jogged over to Shining and grabbed a bottle of water.

"Whew It has been a while since I worked out." Shining looked at him intrigued.

"How long?" Lance wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Well, before I came to Equestria it had been 2 weeks and I had been bed ridden for almost another whole week so that makes practically 3 weeks." Shining smirked.

"Well you are doing really good for not exercising for 3 weeks." Lance beamed with pride.

"Well, I was in the Police force back in my dimension. One of the best, I might add." Shining chuckled.

"That's interesting and good. It means you have experience." Lance nodded.

"I always took my work very seriously and it will be no different with me being captain of Twilight's royal guard." Shining smiled.

"That's what I like to here! Now go back out there and beat your previous record!" Lance saluted Shining.

"Sir yes sir!" Lance ran back to the obstacle course.

Lance kept going through the obstacle course over and over again and kept beating his time bit by bit. Shining was very impressed. with his Stamina and physical dexterity. After Shining believed he was finished with the obstacle course he decided to try Lance at combat. Lance
performed admirably but the 3 best weapons he could use were a halberd, sword, and something from his dimension called a bow which required projectile weapons called arrows. Shining found the weapon neat and very handy. After a little while longer of combat practice, Twilight and Cadence had returned. Twilight saw Lance fending off Shining fairly well. If she didn't know any better, Lance was just as good if not better than her brother. Needless to say though she wasn't very happy to see Lance in combat rather than resting.

"AHEM!" Lance and Shining looked back to see a very irritated Twilight. Now Lance began to sweat more out of nervousness than physical activity.

"Oh! Uh! Twilight! Welcome back!" Lanced chuckled nervously. Twilight glared at both of them.

"I thought I said that Lance needed to recover so no going overboard!" Shining shook his head.

"Twilight I am going easy enough to where I won’t put strain on his body but if he doesn't get any exercise his body will become unhealthy and
it will slow down the healing process. A healthy body is one that heals faster. Good balanced meals and exercise are the best medicine for a healing body and sometimes medicine too." Twilight didn't seemed to be pleased with that answer.

"No, he needs REST!" Cadence put a hoof on Twilight's shoulder and showed her the breathing exercise to calm her down. Twilight did just that and it calmed her down quickly.

"Now that you have calmed down I am going to say that all 3 of you are right. He does need rest Twilight but TOO much rest can cause his body to slowly weaken slowing down the healing process like they said. however too much exercise can reopen wounds and also slow down the healing process which is why he needs rest as well. As long as he isn't pushing himself them he will be fine." Twilight looked at Cadence with saddened eyes.

"But-" Cadence cut Twilight off.

"No buts Twilight. I understand he is your friend and you are worried about him but not letting him get his exercise is dangerous. You need to let him exercise just don't let him push himself. Alright?" Twilight sighed.

"Yes." Cadence smiled triumphantly.

"Good. Now Lance don't push yourself alright? Also you need to go take a shower. We are going out to eat tonight. Mine and Shining's treat." Lance smiled and nodded.

"Alright Cadence. Oh! before I forget. Would you mind inviting Sunburst to dinner with us? Follow me as far as the bathroom and I will explain why." Cadence smiled and nodded. as she followed Lance.

"So why do I need to invite Sunburst?" Lance started looking around to make sure nopony was around to hear him.

"Starlight is in love with Sunburst." This caused Cadence to squee.

"Really?!" Lance chuckles at her excitement.

"Yes but they hardly get any time to spend with each other so I figured if Starlight and Spike are coming with us. Why not invite Sunburst. Give him a break from his duties so he can spend some time with Starlight." Cadence began clapping her hooves together like an excited filly.

"Love is just blossoming everywhere as of late! Alright I will invite him too... or I will pay for their meal and they can have a quiet dinner alone!" Lance snapped his fingers.

"Perfect! I know Starlight doesn't have anything nice to wear so maybe you can hook her up?" Cadence happily nodded.

"I sure can! Oh this is going to be great! Sunburst was telling me how he wanted to get some time off to spend time with Starlight but neither of us knew how she felt. How did you find out?" Lance chuckled.

"When we was heading the throne room and Sunburst was leaving after talking with Starlight for a few minutes She was staring at him longingly and had a dreamy look on her face." Cadence burst out laughing.

"That's very ironic." Lance looked at her confusingly.

"What's ironic?" Cadence giggled.

"Nothing!" Cadence said in a sing song tone. Lance shrugged it off as he made it to the room that he was staying in and grabbed his suit and went to take a shower. After Lance took his shower he went to meet up with everyone in the throne room. When Lance got the throne room the only ones there were Shining Armor, Spike, and Sunburst.

"Hey Shining, Spike, and Sunburst good to see you again as well." Lance smiled

"It is nice to see you again too." Sunburst smiles back. Lance looked around the throne room.

"Where are the girls?" Shining chuckled.

"Cadence is upstairs getting the girls ready." They all gave a small laugh.

Just then they heard trotting coming around the corner and heard the girls chatting. Lance wasn't prepared for what he saw though and neither was Sunburst. They knew they were going out to dinner and were going to some place nice but they didn't expect Twilight and Starlight to dress up the way they did.

Starlight Glimmer wore a simple yet elegant dark black dress with diamonds sewn into the collar of the dress.

Twilight Sparkle's was just a lot like the dress she had at the grand galloping gala from season 5 except it was yellow and had purple stars in the same places that the flowers were on the previous dress. The other thing Lance noticed was her hair was done in the same bun she had when she had the look of a crystal pony. It was very rare that Twilight would give herself such a regal appearance. Lance figured it was because Cadence asked her to.

Both Lance and Sunburst couldn't stop looking at the ponies they have grown fond of. Lance always thought Twilight was beautiful especially when she dressed up but seeing her like this in person? There were no words to describe it. Starlight and Twilight were just looking at the ones they longed for and couldn't stop blushing.

"W-Well what do you think Lance?" Twilight said nervously as Lance tried to gather his voice.

"Y-You look amazing Twi." Twilight's blush got deeper as her smile grew.

"W-What about you Sunburst?" Starlight was just as nervous as Twilight and Sunburst was in no better condition than Lance.

"Y-You look beautiful Starlight." Starlight smiled as she played with her mane while Cadence giggled.

"Alright you four that's enough gawking for now. We need to get to the restaurant. I know some of us are hungry." As soon as she said that Lance's stomach rumbles loudly causing everyone to burst into laughter.

"Alright everypony let's go." Shining and Cadence led the way to the restaurant. Once they arrived Cadence turned to Sunburst and Starlight.

"This is where we part ways. I already made a separate reservation for you two so you can have some quality time together." Cadence winked at them causing both of them to blush as they nodded. They all made their way into the restaurant and got their respective tables. Starlight and Sunburst ate alone while the others ate together. The dinner was a unique one but fun all of the same. The highlight of the evening for Cadence was when she caught a glimpse of Starlight and Sunburst kissing. The only one she told was Lance since they planned this together. After the dinner was over they all left the restaurant and made their way to the castle.

On their way to the castle Starlight and Sunburst stopped.

"Thank you for paying for our meal your highnesses." Cadence smiled.

"You are very welcome Sunburst and you as well Starlight." Starlight smiled and she looked over to Twilight.

"Twilight I thought you should know that I am going to be staying the night at Sunburst's tonight." Twilight smiled.

"So you can catch up more I take it?" Starlight and Sunburst looked at each other and blushed.

"Something like that." Twilight nodded.

"Go on and enjoy yourself." Starlight nodded as she turned to Lance and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you Lance. If you hadn't given me that advice earlier, tonight would never had happened." Lance smiled as he hugged her back.

"Your are welcome Starlight. Now don’t have TOO much fun." Lance winked at them and they both got smirks on their faces.

"No promises." They said in unison as they began to walk off. Twilight beamed.

"I’m glad they are becoming closer friends." The rest of them chuckled as she looked at him confused.

"They aren't friends anymore Twilight." Twilight looked even more confused.

"What do you mean Lance if they weren’t friends why would she be staying with him tonight?" Then the realization hit her. "Wait! you don't mean?" Cadence giggled.

"Yes Twilight, they are a couple now." Twilight's mouth dropped.

"Well that was certainly a surprise." Lance chuckled.

"You still haven't put it together yet Twi?" Twilight looked at Lance confused again.

"What's there to figure out? They are a couple now and... she is... staying with him tonight..." The new realization hit her harder as she grew the biggest blush tonight so far. "Oh my sweet Celestia..." Everyone else just burst out laughing after that as they continued their walk to the castle.

Once they returned to the castle Shining Armor helped Lance learn more about being Captain of the guard. It was definitely much harder than being any form of police officer but it was a task Lance was going to take head on. After a few more hours they decided it was best that they go to bed. Twilight was still a little flustered from discovering the plans Starlight had with Sunburst for tonight but she was slowly coming out of it. Lance laid in bed thinking how great today was and he was anxious for tomorrow as well. Lance turned off his light and drifted off into peaceful slumber.

Comments

[unknowncape7377]

i tipped the ballance of likes and dislikes by 1 and now you have 12 lkes