Canterlot 14:00
Shining Armor burst into the kitchen, startling his parents and his little sister as he bounced around the table, levitating a piece of parchment before him.
“I passed, I passed, I’m in the Academy!” He shouted as he bounced.
Twilight looked up with a big grin on her face. “You passed the test?” She asked as she dropped her Smartie Pants doll and ran up to her big brother. He nodded and swung her around with his magic.
She squealed with glee as he pranced around the kitchen table shouting, “yesyesyesyesyesyesyesyes!”
Twilight Velvet smiled at her children's antics and rushed towards her son, “I’m so proud of you, Shining!” She exclaimed, wrapping her son into a hug.
“Good job son!” Night Light said slapping his son on the back before joining in the group hug.
Shining Armor grinned and then sniffed the air, “Is something burning?” He asked.
“ The pie!” Twilight Velvet shouted as she rushed to the oven. Ignoring her family's laughter, she grabbed the pie from the oven and placed it on the counter with a flourish. "One blueberry pie a la mode, coming up" She said as she cut out a large piece of the pie and served it up with some vanilla ice cream to her son.
"What's this?" Shining Armor asked before taking a bite.
Twilight clapped her hooves in glee as she received her own slice of pie. "We knew you'd pass the test, so we made your favorite pie to celebrate!" She said before gobbling up her treat.
Shining Armor grinned as he took in his sister's messy eating. "Don't you mean your favorite dessert?" Shining Armor asked, levitating a dollop of whipped cream onto her nose.
Twilight giggled and grabbed the can in her own magic. Shining Armor ducked and the whipped cream hit their father in the face.
"Oops" Twilight giggled, ducking down in her seat. Night Light grinned as he pulled another can of whipped cream from the cupboard. Soon whipped cream was flying everywhere.
"Ahem." Twilight Velvet frowned, looking at her suddenly very sheepish family.
"Sorry, mom" Shining Armor and Twilight chorused.
"Sorry, dear" Night Light added, walking towards his wife.
Twilight Velvet grinned and said "You forgot the sprinkles", levitating a jar over to her children. Her family sighed in relief before bursting into laughter as they fought over the sprinkles.
Cloudsdale 14:00
Bronzewing burst through the doors of the Cloudsdale weather factory. Picking up speed, he flew through the halls and into his father’s office, interrupting a weather management meeting. The burst of wind he created knocked over several piles of paperwork and caused the weather pieces to fly off map covering the large table. He landed on top of the table and struck a proud pose.
“I made it! I’m in!” He shouted in excitement as his father grinned and took the letter his son was holding up proudly. "Oops...sorry" Bronzewing added sheepishly as he noticed the mess he had caused. He quickly got off the tables and started to gather up the weather symbols he had scattered. The ponies chuckled good-naturally and started gathering their own reports. (None of them would admit it, but they were happy to have a distraction in what would otherwise be a very boring planning session.)
Storm Wing finished reading the letter and slapped his son on the back with his wing. “Good Job, Bronzewing! I’m proud of you.” He said before turning to face his coworkers, who had finished picking up their reports and had gathered around them to see what the good news was. He held up the letter and said proudly, “My son has been accepted into the Royal Guard Training Academy!”
“Congratulations!”
“Way to go!”
“Well done!”
Bronzewing grinned as the ponies congratulated him. His father stood aside to let Bronzewing enjoy the moment.
“You’ve raised a fine son, Storm Wing” His boss said as a drop of liquid pride rolled down Storm Wing’s face.
Dodge Junction 14:00
“Jubilee, I made it, I passed the test!” Cherry Fizzy said as he called for his cousin. “oof” He gasped as Cherry Jubilee wrapped him in a hug.
“Way to go Fizzy! I’m right proud of you, cuz!” She said as wrapped her cousin in a bone breaking hug. “You’ll be the best Royal Guard in the whole Academy, darn tootin’!”
“Thanks Jubilee” Cherry Fizzy gasped as he tried to free himself from her grip. Suddenly she let go and ran out to the cherry orchards.
“Hey Everypony!” She called as she rang the lunch gong. “Little Cherry Fizzy made it into the Academy!”
Cherry Fizzy gulped as all his cousins and everypony in town ran up to him, smiling and shouting congratulations. “I’m sure gonna miss you folks” He said as he was buried in a group hug.
Manehatten 14:00
Silver Shield walked through the precinct, wondering why his mother had called him down there. ‘ I hope it’s not about my taking the entrance exam for the academy, again’ He thought grimly as he knocked on her door and waited for the 'Enter' before walking into her office.
“Hello mother” He greeted Silver Clasp as he stood in front of her desk.
“Sit down, Silver Badge” She said as picked up a letter from her desk.
'Uh oh', He thought nervously as he sat in metal chair in front of her desk. It was never a good sign when Silver Clasp asked you to take a seat.
“This came for you” She said passing him the letter.
“Thank you mother” he said as he took it and stood to leave.
“Sit down” she said as she closed the door with her magic.
*GULP* ‘Now I’m gonna get it’, he thought nervously.
Silver Clasp smiled at her son and motioned towards the letter. “Why don’t you open it now” She suggested. At least it sounded like a suggestion, but he knew better. With another nervous gulp he slid open the top of the letter. He read the letter silently and couldn’t help the grin that appeared on his face. “Well?” His mother asked when he had finished.
His grin faded as he handed her the letter. “I’ve been accepted in the Royal Guard Training Academy” He said and waited for her disappointed sigh. Surprisingly, it didn’t come.
“The Royal guards, huh?” She said, taking the letter. “Says here you passed with top marks” She continued as she read the letter. He waited silently for her to finish. At last she put it down. And smiled. His jaw fell open as she continued, “Well done, Silver Shield”
He realized he was gaping at his mother and closed his mouth with a snap. “You mean, you aren’t going to yell at me or forbid me to go?” He asked in disbelief.
She shook her head, “You’ve obviously wanted to do this for some time and you’ve put some serious effort into it. I’m not going to stop you from following your dream just because it’s not what I expected. Especially one you’ve worked so hard for.”
He stared at her in disbelief as she smiled, not the ‘I know what you’re up to” smile but a real smile. “I may not say it much, but I do love you son, and I want you to be happy.”
Silver Shield grinned and leaned over the desk to give his mother a hug. She stiffened for a moment before lightly patting him on the back. She cleared her throat softly and he leaned back into his chair, grinning sheepishly. “You’d best go tell your friends and get your gear ready” She said, back to cop mom mode.
“Yes, ma’am” He said happily and turned to leave her office.
Just as his hoof was on the door, Silver Clasp called to him, “And son?”
He looked over his shoulder.
“I’m proud of you.” She said simply before going back to her paperwork.
“I love you, too” Silver Badge replied before going to meet his friends.
The Royal Guard Academy 07:55
Shining Armor set down his bags with a grin. 'This is it' He thought, looking around him in wonder, 'I'm finally here'
"Oof" He gasped as his musings were cut short by his little sister tackle hugging him.
"I'm gonna miss you, Shining!" She cried, holding onto his back leg.
"I'll miss you too, Twily" Shining Armor said as he levitated her in front of him and wrapped her in a hug. "But we'll see each other every weekend." He smiled at her before smirking and tickling her tummy.
"Eek!" She cried, giggling as she struggled to get away from the dreaded tickle monster. After a few moments of silliness, she pulled back with an adorably serious expression on her little face. "Promise you'll write?" She asked.
"I promise" He replied, equally as serious. Then he smiled and pulled her into another hug.
"You be careful, okay Shining Armor?" Twilight Velvet said, wrapping both her children in a hug.
"Do us proud, son" Night Light added, joining his family in their group hug.
"Air, air!" Gasped Twilight, struggling under the three larger ponies. They all burst out laughing as they broke off their hug, allowing oxygen to reach the slightly blue filly.
"I'll be careful, Mom. I'll make you proud, Dad." Shining Armor said.
Suddenly, a blare of a bugle resounded across the court yard, calling all the new recruits to report to the front gates, and signaling the time for civilians to leave. He gave his family one last hug before rushing to join the other recruits at the gate.
"I promise" he muttered under his breathe as he turned to wave one last time.
The Royal Guard Academy 07:55
Silver Shield looked around him at the other recruits and their families. Everypony was either laughing or crying as they said good bye to their loved ones. Silver Shield sighed, shaking his head. That was no way for a Royal Guard to act. Even a Royal Guard in training. He was going to buck up and make his mother proud.
Besides, he'd already said his good byes. His friends had seen him off at the station and he'd said farewell to his mother that morning before he left. It hadn't exactly been a tearful farewell, but he hadn't expected one. His mother wasn't one for emotional displays. He was still shocked over her speech when he had gotten the acceptance letter.
Suddenly, the sound of a bugle interrupted his thoughts. He double-checked his bags, straightened up and headed towards the front gates.
It was time to make his mother proud.
The Royal Guard Academy 07:55
"Now ya make sure ya get enough to eat, ya hear. It won't do for ya to pass out on yer first day, now" Cherry Jubilee rambled on, giving last minute instructions to her little cousin.
"Yes, ma'am" Cherry Fizzy said with a smile, Cherry Jubilee may be over-protective, but he was used to it. After all, she'd practically raised him.
"But don't go eatin' too many pears! They'll give ya a tummy ache" She continued.
"Yes, ma'am" Cherry Fizzy repeated. 'She'd been talking nonstop since they left the farm. She had to run out of advice sooner or later' He thought to himself as she kept talking.
"And don't forget to wash behind yer ears, ya always miss that"
"Yes, ma'am" It was a good thing everypony else was busy with their own good byes. This was getting embarrassing.
"And if ya get to feelin' a mite homesick, ya just go on ahead and send yer folks a letter. We'll come right on down ta give ya some country lovin"
"I will, Jubilee"
Cherry Jubilee took a breathe to continue her counsel, but was interrupted by Cherry Fizzy giving her a hug.
"I'll be fine, honest" He said with a grin. "Trust me"
"Oh my," she said through happy tears, "looks like little Fizzy is growing up"
Cherry Fizzy heaved a silent sigh of relief. He didn't know how much more advice he could handle.
Suddenly, they were interrupted by a bugle ring out across the court yard.
"I gotta go, Cuz" Cherry fizzy said as he broke off their hug.
"Alright," Jubilee said, letting go "you just take care of yerself, ya hear"
"I will" With that he gave his straps a quick tug to make sure they were secure and rushed off to join the other recruits at the gate.
"Cherry Fizzy!" Cherry Jubilee's shout caused him to look behind him. "Don't forget to write!"
"I won't!" He shouted back as he rushed to the gate.
The Royal Guard Academy 07:59
"WooHoo!" Bronzewing shouted as he caught sight of the Academy grounds. He'd gotten a little distracted by the sights (and may have overslept a little from the celebration party he and the fellas had before he left) and was running (or in his case flying) a bit late. He swooped down for a landing just as he heard the bugle call.
'Uh oh' He thought, 'don't wanna be late on the first day!' Tucking his wings in, he dived down to the grounds. 'Too fast!' He thought as he desperately flared out his wings in an attempt to slow himself down.
CRASH
He collided with three other recruits (at least he hoped they were recruits, he'd once crashed into his dad's boss. Luckily the bosspony had a sense of humor and had laughed off being used as landing pad for a young colt. Somehow he didn't think drill sergeants felt the same way about new recruits)
"Augh..." one of the ponies groaned. (It was hard to tell who when they were all in a pile)
"What in tarnation was that?!" A tan earth pony with a brown mane asked, rubbing his side where a hoof had collided with him.
"A rogue pegasus, that's what that was." The blue unicorn with a grey mane said with a groan as he pushed off a saddlebag that had landed on his head.
Slowly and carefully, so as not to hurt anypony(at least, not hurt anypony more than he already had) Bronzewing extricated himself from the tangle of limbs and saddlebags. With practiced ease, he reached into the pile and helped the other ponies up.
"Hehe, sorry about that guys. I was running a bit late and I guess I wasn't looking were I was going." Bronzewing said nervously before picking up a saddlebag and holding it out. 'Please, please, please don't be somepony important that's going to make my life miserable' He begged silently.
"You guys all okay?" A white unicorn with a blue mane asked the group as he took his saddlebag and levitated it onto his back.
"Never been better!" Bronzewing responded, brushing some dust off his wing. "That was awesome!"(truthfully, it hurt. But it was important to make a good impression after crashing into somepony you don't know)
The blue unicorn glared at him before saying, "Well it feels like I've been hit by a pegasus going 40 mph, but I'll live"
Bronzewing gulped nervously. 'He's going to make my life miserable, isn't he?' He thought. (He'd never really learned how to make the proper first impression)
The tan one picked up his saddlebag, and started chuckling. "Nothing a good night's sleep won't fix. Trust me, I've had worse tumbles"
"Just need a quick jog to stretch the muscles, and you'll be good as new" The white unicorn added, joining the laughter.
'Well, two outta three's not bad' Bronzewing thought as he held out a hoof. "The name's Bronzewing, what's yours?" he asked.
"Howdy, I'm Cherry Fizzy" the tan earth pony said, shaking his hoof.
"I'm Shining Armor, nice to meet you" The white unicorn said, shaking Bronzewing's and Cherry Fizzy's hooves.
They all looked expectantly at the remaining unicorn.
He sighed, giving his strap a last tug before facing the group. "Silver Shield, a pleasure"
The four stallions turned to walk towards the gate when they suddenly stopped. In font of them was the meanest, toughest looking pony they had ever seen.
"I'm so glad you four have decided to join us." He started.
They all shrank back, looking guiltily at each other and the deserted field around them. While they had been sorting themselves out, everypony else had already made it inside. They smiled sheepishly at the surly looking stallion in front of them.
He smile back, (which was somehow more terrifying then his glare had been) and said "As a welcoming gift, you four get the privilege of KP Duty for the next month. Report to the commissary at 04:00 hours."
Their smiles faded as they fought the urge to groan. Unfortunately for all of them, Bronzewing choose that moment to demonstrate his limited knowledge of military terms.
"What's KP Duty?" he asked as the other three did groan.
"You'll find out tomorrow" the pony said, "and since it looks like you'll need some extra help, you four have just earned another month." He smiled at the dejected faces and the pointed glares at their companion.
Bronzewing opened his mouth to protest, only for Silver Shield and Cherry Fizzy to kick him on either side as Shining Armor stepped in front of him.
"Yes, sir" Shining Armor stated.
"NOW YOU GET YOUR LAZY FLANKS TO ASSEMBLY BEFORE I HAVE YOU DOING PUSHUPS TILL THE SUN FREEZES OVER!" They shrank back in terror. "NOW!" He screamed at them when they didn't immediately move. They took off galloping towards the assembly hall.
He permitted himself a soft chuckle as he watched them go. "That never gets old" He said under his breathe.
Thoughtfully he turned towards consignment office. 'I think I'll keep my eyes on those four."