The Story of a Royal Guard [OUTDATED]

by Himntor

Promotion

The next morning came quickly. A little too quickly for Sword Shield's tastes, but he gratefully welcomed it as his dreams had been far more uncomfortable compared to what he was about to do. He put on his armor for the day and walked into the sunlight.

Shining Armor was nearby assigning patrols for the day and noticed Sword Shield coming out of the barracks. "You'll be fine," he said. "Hurry up and report back to me within an hour."

Sword Shield gave a quick salute and trotted off towards his home. He walked through Canterlot's busy streets, zig-zagging to avoid the oncoming wave of ponies going to work. He slowly approached his old neighborhood, the anxiety building. He came to a stop at his old home's door. He slowly raised his hoof, but before he could knock the door opened up. Standing in the doorway was his father, seeming like a giant compared to him even though they shared the same height.

"Hi, dad," said Sword Shield nervously. He cleared his throat. "How have you been?"

Steadfast looked surprised. "I'm fine. I was about to see if today's paper had come yet."

Sword Shield looked down at the ground and saw the paper. He levitated it up to his father.

He took it with a nod. "Thank you. We were just about to have breakfast. Do you want to join us?"

"Yeah, there's also some things I want to talk about while we eat," said Sword Shield.

He came inside and greeted his mother with a hug and joined at the dining table, awkwardly taking off his helmet. "There's been something I've been meaning to tell you dad," he said.

Steadfast opened his paper and began reading at the table. "Oh? I should expect so, I haven't heard from you in months. A little disappointing. How goes it in the Royal Guard? I suspect you are at least living up to their standards?"

"Steadfast, leave him be and let him continue," said Sacred.

Sword Shield smiled. "Thanks mom. I'm progressing fine, and am actually working with the Captain fairly often. I actually came here by his orders. Anyway, let me get to the point. I'm sure you were both about what happened two days ago with Celestia and the sun, right?"

"Yes, we were told that Celestia had been attacked and couldn't raise the sun," said Sacred. "Terrible thing, but I'm glad everything's okay."

"Right. Well, regarding her attack, I was on guard for Celestia when it happened. Or rather, I was supposed to be."

"What do you mean supposed to be?" asked Steadfast.

"I was to guard the door to the dressing room where Celestia was, but I got distracted and left. It's my fault that she got attacked." He continued to explain how he searched for a way to defeat Nightmare Moon on his own and found out about the Elements of Harmony, and that he followed Twilight and her friends through the Everfree Forest to the ancient castle only to find out they had stopped Nightmare Moon themselves.

Steadfast and Sacred listened intently as Sword Shield explained everything. Sacred nodded in understanding of what he did and why, but Steadfast remained stern and unreadable. After Sword Shield finished, Steadfast stood up slowly and walked over to the door and opened it.

"I have to go to work, I'll be back sometime in the evening," he said as he walked out and slammed the door.

There was silence for several seconds.

"I'm sorry about your father, he's just been in a bad mood lately," said Sacred.

"What for?" asked Sword Shield. "Don't tell me it's my fault."

"It is and it isn't. There's a lot that's been weighing on him, especially work. Fancy Pants is giving him a bit of a rough time, and you haven't been visiting much. He's been wanting to hear from you for a while now, especially after hearing from me about your new skills."

"Oh... I didn't know. I've just been so nervous to face him. I'm afraid I might disappoint him, and I guess I already have." He sighed and put his helmet back on. "I suppose I have to report back to the Captain now."

She frowned. "Don't be so hard on yourself, I'm sure your father is proud, he just doesn't know how to show it and needs some time to cool off. Please come back soon to see your father, I'm sure he'd be glad."

"Alright. I'll come back within the week if I can." He gave her a quick hug. "I'll see you soon, mom."

He walked out the door and began making his way towards the Royal Barracks. On the way he accidentally bumped into another pony on the street. The victim, an azure coated unicorn mare, turned around and stared at him angrily.

"Who dares to bump into the Great and Powerful Trixie!?" she said.

"Sorry, I was distracted in my thoughts," said Sword Shield. "I'll just be on my way." He moved to get past the upset unicorn, but she continued blocking him.

Trixie stomped her hoof. "Trixie does not take kindly to being interrupted. Don't you know who you're dealing with? Trixie is the most powerful unicorn in all of Equestria!"

He narrowed his eyes. "I'm sure she is, but if you'll excuse me I must get back to the barracks."

"Is that a hint of doubt in your voice? The Great and Powerful Trixie is sure that she can do anything a pathetic Royal Guard like you can do, and better!"

He grunted. "Yeah? Well I honestly doubt you can do anything like this!" He quickly brought out his sword, grew it to his surfboard shape and jumped on. The second his hoof touched the sword he shot straight upwards, leaving Trixie in the dust. He spotted the barracks from above and dived towards it, quickly touching down and jumping off his sword.

"Sheesh. Some ponies just can't take a slice of humble pie, can they?" he thought, rolling his eyes.

Shining Armor had been waiting for him to come back with his report and walked up to him as he landed. "That was quite the entrance," he said. "Did something happen?"

"No, there was just some stuck up unicorn blocking my path," said Sword Shield. "I simply flew over her, probably making her head spin." He chuckled.

"I see. What of your report?"

"I spoke with my mom and dad. I told them everything that had happened, and it seemed they took it well. At least, my mom did. I'm not so sure about my dad, he seemed disappointed in me, but that's alright I guess. That's all I've to report, Captain."

"Good. I need you to get back to training those two recruits for a while again, is that okay with you?"

Sword Shield saluted. "Yes Sir. I'll get to it right away."

For the next few weeks he spent his time training Arden and Swifty. They weren't the fastest learners, but he eventually taught them both how to properly wield a sword and how to fight with it.

Arden struggled the most with using a sword and made a comment one day while training in a field outside of Canterlot. "I don't know why I need to learn how to use a sword. All I need is my bow and arrow," he huffed.

"It's important to know melee combat. What if your opponent rushes up to you, what are you gonna do?" asked Sword Shield.

Arden let out a short laugh, "I won't let them rush up to me, that's what."

Sword Shield frowned at Arden's cockiness. "How in the world do you use a bow and arrow anyway? I mean.... all we have are these hooves," Sword Shield held up one of his hooves to make his point, "At least unicorns have magic to help them. So how do you pull out an arrow, aim it and fire?" It was a rather curious phenomenon how Arden was able to fire with a bow so easily.

"Well it is a cartoon, Sir," said Swifty.

Sword Shield looked dumbly over to Swifty. "What?"

"Uh... never mind. I don't know," answered Swifty stupidly. Arden snickered at his friend.

"What are you laughing at?" demanded Sword Shield.

"It's nothing. Continue with training," said Arden with a smile and wink towards Swifty.

Sword Shield was exhausted however and simply called off training for the rest of the day. He felt that he just wasn't getting enough sleep lately and commanded Arden and Swifty to head back to their stations. He wanted to be alone for a few moments before coming back to his own station.

Sword Shield perched himself under the shadow of a boulder, put his sword down and dozed off into thoughtful rest.

A few minutes later, a voice called out, "Sleeping on the job?" asked the voice. Sword Shield yawned and opened his eyes to see who had bothered him. Standing over him was Princess Cadance.

"Cadance! What are you doing here?" asked Sword Shield with surprise. He immediately stood at attention and brushed himself off.

"I've been bored," answered Cadance with a short laugh.

"Seriously?" asked Sword Shield as he stood up.

"No. Are you okay? Is Shining Armor giving you a hard time or something?" asked Cadance.

"No, just been a bit tired from training a couple of louts... well, that's only part true. I think I'm just having an off day, I'm not feeling..." Sword Shield searched for the right word.

"Productive?"

"Purpose! I haven't been able to feel my purpose lately. Everypony knows about their cutie marks and how it helps them find their place in life. Look at mine. It's a sword and a shield. What meaning does that give me? Being stuck as a Royal Guard for the rest of my life?" asked Sword Shield. He was confused about where to go with his life from here.

"Is that bad?" asked Cadance.

"Yes, I mean... well yes, it is bad. I don't want my life tied to my cutie mark. If I wanted to do something like... I don't know... play music. Could I do that? Would I even be good at it?" asked Sword Shield.

"Do you want to play music?" Cadance was becoming confused.

"No no no no. Forget the music. I'm just saying, I feel awfully contained," said Sword Shield plainly.

"I know what you mean, I used to feel that way too. But there are always hidden purposes in your cutie mark that you probably haven't found yet. When I first discovered my cutie mark I didn't know what to think either. 'A crystal heart? What am I supposed to do with that?' but I learned that you aren't bound to one job based on your talents. There are plenty of other things you could do for a living," said Cadance.

"Like what?" asked Sword Shield. All he could think of was Royal Guard.

"Uh... you could... hire out as a mercenary?" she suggested.

"A mercenary? That's it?" Sword Shield sighed in hopelessness.

"I don't know. These are things you have to find out for yourself. You'll learn some day, I promise." Cadance reassured Sword Shield.

"I sure hope so Cadance."

"What about the six stars? On your cutie mark I mean. What do you think those could represent?" asked Cadance.

"I have no idea. That I'm... good with magic? I've been practicing it a lot with my sword, but when I try to use magic on other things I can't seem to do as well. My magic isn't like it was back in Magic School. I'm stuck with using magic on my sword." Sword Shield felt even more hopeless.

"Well I hope you figure it out. I think Shining Armor needs you back at the castle, so you better hurry back," said Cadance glancing back towards Canterlot.

"So is that why you came out here? To fetch me? Why not any other Royal Guard?" asked Sword Shield.

Cadance shrugged. "I said I was bored."

"Uh huh. I'll see you later then. And... thanks," said Sword Shield.

"Your welcome, now hurry up."

Sword Shield trotted off towards Canterlot and slowly made his way towards the castle. Shining Armor was at the barracks assembling guards and sending them off to their posts as usual.

Sword Shield came up to him and stood at salute, "You were looking for me, Captain?"

"Yes. I'm pulling you off of training those recruits, they're good to go. You've done a good job training them," said Shining Armor.

"Oh, thank you Captain. Is that all?" asked Sword Shield.

"Almost. I've been reviewing your service to the Royal Guard, you've been putting in a lot of hours, and then also helping train two recruits. You even had the best results out of everypony during your recruitment and training. So, with that in mind, I'm promoting you to Lieutenant," answered Shining Armor.

Sword Shield's face immediately filled with shock,"What? Lieutenant? You're kidding me right?"

"I'm at a loss for ponies up in command around here, and I need more to help keep everything in check. You've got all the qualifications and know how. I'm honestly surprised at how much paperwork you can get through. Do you feel you're not ready for it?" asked Shining Armor.

"No. I can do it, I'm just a bit shocked you would consider me for the position. Thanks, I won't let you don't," said Sword Shield with another salute.

"Good. Now normally we would have a better place for you to stay with your promotion, but we don't have room and any other bunk space has run out. We actually need to expand the barracks and sleeping areas for the guards," said Shining Armor.

"I can sleep in one of the tents, to be honest I prefer the sleeping mats for tents than my bunk," suggested Sword Shield.

"A tent? Are you sure? That seems more like a downgrade," said Shining Armor.

"It's fine, somepony else can have my bunk. Like you said, we're running out of space. My parents are moving out of town, and having a tent will help me keep better track of my stuff, more or less," said Sword Shield.

"If you say so, I'll get you one of the medium sized Royal Guard tents." Shining Armor sent one of the guards to get the tent set up.

"Before I get started, I'd like a bit of time to speak with my father." Sword Shield wanted to talk to his father about the position as a Lieutenant.

"Go right ahead. Be back here within the hour, there are some things I need to go through with you," said Shining Armor.

"Yes sir," said Sword Shield while giving a third salute and started on his way.

"Wait! Aren't you forgetting something?" Shining Armor called over as Sword Shield was leaving.

Sword Shield looked around confused, "Not that I know of."

"Where is your sword?" asked Shining Armor.

Sword Shield looked behind him at his empty sheath, "Oh. I must have left it back in the fields outside of Canterlot." He facehoofed at his stupidity.

"If you want I can get somepony to fetch it and leave it here," suggested Shining Armor.

"No, it's alright, I can get it."

Sword Shield began using his magic. He located the position of his sword in the field and whipped it back to his position in a quick flash of teleportation magic.

"That's... actually... huh. I didn't know unicorns could do that," said Shining Armor with awe.

"You know Captain, if you don't mind me saying, you can be a real doofus sometimes," joked Sword Shield as he put his sword back in it's sheath.

"I would be sending you to the dungeon right about now if my sister Twilight hadn't already made that deduction," said Shining Armor with a laugh.

"And I'm sure I'd willfully go to the dungeon for saying it. I'll be back in an hour," said Sword Shield with a chuckle and a quick fourth salute.

"Good luck!"

Sword Shield trotted off once more towards his parents home. The sights and smells ever the same, the tall beautiful Canterlot castle in the background, the smell of flowers and food from the assorted shops and stalls. Sword Shield didn't waste a minute to take it in and appreciate it however, this visit was too important for him. He approached his old home. Curiously, there was another pony already outside the front door. Sword Shield recognized her immediately.

"Cadance? What are you doing... at my parents house?" asked Sword Shield as he walked up to her.

The door burst open and Sacred Shield walked out, "Well she's helping us with moving!" she said with a smile while carrying multiple cardboard boxes.

"Moving?! What do you mean moving?" asked Sword Shield with surprise.

"Well you see, Fancy Pants bumped up Steadfast's position and he needs him over in the city of Manehatten. We have to be out of here by tomorrow morning. Dear Cadance here saw us packing our boxes into a storage chariot and volunteered to help us," explained Sacred.

"It's my pleasure to help. I'm sorry you guys are having to leave Canterlot," said Cadance as she took the packing boxes and teleported them to the storage chariot near the house.

"It's quite alright. We'll miss you all, but we're just as excited to be working in a new city. I hear there is quite a large hospital there, and I've been allowed to transfer to it," said Sacred excitedly.

"Whoa whoa, hold on. You're just going to leave me here in Canterlot?" asked Sword Shield a bit frightened of being left alone with no close by family.

"It's not like we have a choice. It hurts me to leave you here, but don't you have duties with the Royal Guard that need tending to?" asked Sacred.

"Yeah but..." Sword Shield sighed, "Yeah. I can stay here and be fine. Just be safe, okay?"

"Us be safe? We're more worried about you! It'll be hard enough for us, especially if you keep running into more bad ponies like you have been recently," said Sacred with a horrified expression.

"Mom... that was over a month ago," said Sword Shield.

"Yes but think about it! Just recently there was a dragon near Ponyville that could have suffocated us, and even more recently there has been reports of some sort of infestation in Fillydelphia and Ponyville. I just want you to be safe." said Sacred with worry.

"I can take care of myself mom, really. I wasn't assigned to deal with the dragon or infestation either. Celestia dealt with those herself if I recall," said Sword Shield. He felt his mother was overreacting.

"I know..." said Sacred with a sigh, "I guess I'm just a little bit worried of my little Shield being hurt."

"Don't worry Mrs. Shield. We'll take good care of him. Are there any other boxes you need help with?" asked Cadance.

"Oh yes, one moment." Sacred walked back into the house and brought out some more packing boxes, "Put these in the chariot too. Thanks dear."

"You're very welcome."

"Is there anything else you needed Sword Shield?" asked Sacred.

"Well... I was hoping to talk to dad. I was promoted to Lieutenant and I wanted to know what he thought," explained Sword Shield.

"You're a Lieutenant now? That's amazing news! Congratulations. I'm sure your father will be very happy to hear that, but he's already in Manehatten arranging a place for us to stay, but I'll pass him the info," said Sacred.

"Thanks. I'm afraid that I can't stay to help out with the rest of the moving, I have to get back to my duties. I'll see you later Cadance. Bye mom," said Sword Shield with a quick bow of respect to either of them.

"Goodbye my little Shield. Don't forget to stay safe!" said Sacred with her own playful salute.

"I will, I will," said Sword Shield as he hopped onto his sword and flew back to the barracks.

Sword Shield quickly reported to Shining Armor and began his training as a new Lieutenant. The Captain ran him through every protocol, every position on the walls throughout Canterlot and in the castle, giving a complete run down on the entire city. It took weeks to memorize everything correctly, but Sword Shield quickly learned everything he needed to help run the Royal Guard.

Author's Note:

I think this chapter was the most difficult. I had a bit of trouble figuring out how exactly the promotion happened, and I think I may have rushed it a bit much the first time, hopefully this version will be better, but I still think it's a little bit rushed. I'm not sure what I can do to fix that.

Comments

[Lucky424]

I have decided his dad is a butt nugget. For the moment anyway.