The first thing Flash heard that morning was a loud, almost beast-like sound above him. Panic began to settle inside him till he looked up. There, he saw Shining Armor in his bed. The large stallion was fast asleep, snoring away.
When Flash had first arrived at the Sparkle home, Night Light had told him he would be staying in the spare room they used for storage. However, it would take some time till it could be fully cleared out for the colt. Until then, Flash would have to bunk with Shining Armor.
Flash didn't mind, the sleeping bag he was using was way better then the old tree house floor. Last night had been some of the best night sleep he could remember ever having.
Not wanting to wake up Shining, he slowly got up and quietly left the room. As he headed downstairs, he soon saw that Velvet and Night Light were preparing breakfast.
"Oh Flash." Velvet said, noticing him. "Why are you up so early?"
"I usually get up at this time." Flash replied as he looked over the toast and cereals they were putting out, his lips licking at the sight. "Can I help?" he asked, trying to hide the fact he wanted to get to the food now.
"You could get the cutlery out." Night Light replied as he opened the fridge. “Haven't got to that yet.”
“Sure.” Flash lifted himself up high enough with his wings to open the drawer and pull out the cutlery, soon placing them on the table. As he continued to help in the kitchen, two other ponies made their way into the dinning room. It was Shining and Twilight, who quickly sat down for breakfast. Seeing this sight, the family soon began their meal.
As they ate, Twilight turned to Flash, "So what do you want to do today?"
"I don't know." Flash's life usually consisted of finding things to eat, he never had any free time before.
"Maybe he could go to the castle with you." Velvet suggested as she chomped down a piece of toast. "He might enjoy it."
"Yeah..." Twilight said as she ate the last bit of her cereal. "I'm sure Princess Celestia wouldn't mind."
"Sure." Flash replied as he gulped down some milk. “Sounds like fun.”
After breakfast, he and Twilight headed out towards the castle. Flash wasn't expecting much since he had found out recently that Twilight would most likely be spending her time reading. Reading was something Flash wasn't great at due to lack of need for it on the streets. However, he had always wanted to see the inside of the castle.
As they arrived at the giant castle gates, Flash was amazed at how Twilight so casually walked passed the large fearsome guards posted there. One of them Flash even recognised, mainly due to being previously chased by him. He decided to keep his head down till they passed the armoured duo. That is, till the sound of approaching hooves clicked in his ears.
"Good morning Twilight." he looked back up, only to see the princess herself greeting her student, "and I see you invited your new friend today."
"That's okay isn't it?" Twilight asked worried that she had done something wrong.
"Of course it is." Celestia replied with a nod. "But I'm afraid he may get bored since today's lesson is just a few book reviews." Celestia turned to a middle aged unicorn next to her. "Silver Star, could you please get him a visitor's pass?"
"Of course Princess." Silver Star saluted before leaving to acquire the pass.
Soon, Flash had a small card tied around his neck. "That pass will allow you to walk around the castle without trouble." Celestia explained to him, "You won't be allowed into every section of the castle, but you will be able to visit places like the library, the kitchens and the royal gardens."
"Cool." Flash said inspecting the pass. It was a small card with a insignia similar to Celestia's cutie mark.
They soon arrived outside the castle library and Celestia turned to Twilight. "I'll be back to check on you in a little while Twilight. Until then, I'd like you to read 'Revelations of Magic' volumes 3 through 5."
"Yes Princess." Twilight nodded.
The Alicorn soon headed off with her servants, leaving the two foals alone. "So, are you going to come in?" Twilight asked, curiosity covering her face.
"I think I might look around for a bit." Flash said with a tap of his chin. “I'd like to explore a little, if you don't mind.”
"Okay." Twilight nodded again. "Lunch is usually at twelve-thirty, so make sure to be in the great hall by then."
"Got it." he said before they went their separate ways. Flash spent the next several hours exploring the halls of the castle, amazed at the sight before him. He visited the many ballrooms and found himself in a few of the kitchens. He especially liked these since the chefs would offer him sweets that could have never gotten on the streets, other then on Nightmare Night.
Eventually, he found himself in the gardens. Fascinated by the many strange and exotic flowers around him, he decided to enter the large hedge maze that was placed inside one of the gardens. Flash found himself having fun inside the maze, pretending he was on a grand adventure...until he got lost.
"Okay." he said to himself as he pointed at a hedge wall. "I'm pretty sure I've come this way before, so the way out should be around...here." he jumped around a corner only to be met with another dead end. "Darn it.”
An hour and a half later, Flash finally decided to give up. "Time to cheat." he said to himself as he began flapping his wings, hovering until he was above the hedges. "Who says cheaters never prosper?" he said, running around the hedge. That is, till he ran straight off the edge, causing him to crash and roll until he arrived in a dusty heap.
"Ow." he said, rubbing his head as he pulled himself up. Looking around, he realised he was in a part of the gardens that looked very different. This area looked more like an extreme play park. Large structures littered the ground, built with ropes, nets and other cool looking equipment. "What is this place?" Flash asked himself as he kept staring at equipment, his eyes shining with excitement. “It's so cool!”
"It's the guard's training ground." Flash span around and saw a middle aged Earth Pony walk up to him. His coat was mostly gray with streaks of silver here and there. A large scar ran over his left eye and his Cutie Mark was a black shield with a smaller white shield inside of it.
Flash shivered at the sight of the larger pony. "I'm sorry." he quivered out as he shook like a leaf. "I was lost in the maze and climbed out but ended up here and-"
The Earth Pony smiled as he walked up and patted Flash on the back, "Relax kid. You're not the first pony to wander in here by mistake."
"I'm not?!" he whimpered out in surprise.
The older pony laughed. "Happens all the time." he explained as he placed his hoof on his chest. "I'm Grand Hoof, I'm the one in charge of this here training ground."
"Training ground?" Flash repeated, looking around.
"This is where the royal guard practice and train for any and all kinds of situations that may endanger Canterlot."
"Cool!" Flash said as he stepped towards the first obstacle, looking up at it, "Can I try it?"
Grand Hoof laughed again. "Go ahead kiddo."
Flash smiled and ran towards the first obstacle, a tall vertical board with a thick piece of rope. Grand Hoof sat down as he watched the young pony begin the obstacle course. It was designed to test fully grown ponies, most who would give up on the first try. Grand Hoof bet that orange foal would only last ten minutes before he quit.
Flash took the rope in his mouth and began pulling himself up. However, before he could get to the top, he lost his footing and fell down, a loud thud following the impact. Grand Hoof got off his seat, expecting Flash to begin crying and give up. He was a colt after all. But to his surprise, Flash got up immediately and once again began climbing. This time, he was more steady, as if he had suction pads on his feet.
Grand Hoof's mouth hung open as Flash pulled himself over the top and slid down the board. How in Equestria had he managed to do that on his second try baffled him. Most Pegasi took at least four times before getting it. "Did he figure out the right way to climb after that first failure?" he asked himself as he rubbed his chin in thought. "He's quite adaptable for his age."
Flash moved onto the next obstacle, a mud field filled with an assortment of different sized stepping stones. With one small leap, he jumped onto the closest one. This time Grand Hoof knew Flash would have a hard time, the colt was already half off balance on the first rock. That is, unless he used his wings. But Flash didn't. Instead, he used all of his might to leap from one to the other until he slipped on the fourth and fell. This time however, the failure didn't fully happen as he used his wings to save himself from a mud bath. Quickly hovering in the air, he flew back to the beginning of the mud course. There, he tried again, only this time his strides were more direct and he was soon reached the other side.
This continued on for a good long while with Flash. He would reach an obstacle and if he failed, he would try again, sometimes three or four times if necessary. But he always did better each time and eventually completed the course in almost record time.
"That was fun." Flash said as he shook off the few painful times from the obstacle course. “I am kinda hungry now though...”
"Not bad kid." Grand Hoof said with a clap as the young foul moved up to him.
"Thanks." Flash said before the sound of bells made him realise what time it was. "Aw shoot! I'm gonna be late!"
"Got a date kid?"
"I'm supposed to have lunch in the great hall in half an hour!" Flash explained in a panic, "But I don't know the way back!"
"Relax kid, I can get you there in no time." Grand Hoof replied as he patted Flash's back again. "Come on kiddo, I know a shortcut." The stallion soon led Flash out of the training field and around the garden into a backdoor entrance. It looked like a full setup barracks as they went through into an armoury filled with spears and swords. Flash had to use every bit of self control he needed to not start playing with some of them.
After some time, they finally entered a part of the castle that actually looked like a castle. Several hallways later, they drew close to the great hall. Twilight and the princess were walking towards them when they finally arrived at the great hall's entrance. When she saw Grand Hoof and Flash together, Celestia grew worried, a grimace on her face. "Good afternoon Sir Grand Hoof." she said with a wave "There isn't a problem, is there?"
"No, your majesty." he replied as he patted Flash's head with a cheeky grin, "Young Flash here simply stumbled into the training area and I was just helping him get back here in time for lunch."
"I see. Well, thank you for that." Celestia said with an approving nod. "Would you care to join us?"
"I could go for bite your majesty."
Lunch was delicious. Flash enjoyed the spring rolls the most as they ate. As the feast continued, Twilight asked the princess a few questions about what she had learned from today's study session while Grand Hoof talked about some of his adventures as a young solider. After some time the conversation turned to Flash, eventually ending with Grand Hoof learning about his unique circumstances.
"So your living with the princess's protege now, eh?" Grand Hoof asked as he chomped down on the last spring roll.
"Yeah." Flash replied as he scratched the back of his head. "I'm really grateful to them." Twilight and him then shared a smile.
Grand Hoof on the other hoof, looked as if he was thinking deeply about something important. He lowered his line of vision for a second, trying to observe Flash's Cutie Mark. After a few minutes of thinking, he then turned to Celestia. "Your highness, may I speak to you in private for a moment?"
"Of course." she replied, seeing the thoughtful look on his face. She then turned to the foals with a kind smile. "My little ponies, if you're done here, why don't you head back to the library? I'll be back shortly."
Twilight and Flash finished their lunch and returned to the library. There, Twilight found another book to read while Flash found himself a comfy chair to sit in and simply watched her study. His body still slightly ached from the obstacle course and he knew he didn't have the attention span for reading right now. Not long after, the Princess and Grand Hoof arrived, both with a smile on their faces.
"Flash." Celestia said as she pointed to Grand Hoof. "Grand Hoof would like to talk to you about something."
Flash and Twilight looked at each other, curious about what the old solider would want to say that was so important. Grand Hoof cleared his throat and begun. "Flash, after hearing your story and after seeing how well you did on the obstacle course, I believe you have great potential as a protector."
"Protector? Protector of what?" Flash asked, confused.
"Of whatever you think is worth protecting." Celestia said, still shining her kind smile.
"Flash." Grand Hoof continued as he patted Flash's shoulder. "I would like for you to train here with me as my apprentice."
"Apprentice?" Flash repeated, surprised at the sudden proposal. “Huh?”
"You see Flash." Celestia explained as she pointed at Grand Hoof again. "Grand Hoof isn't just a royal guard, he's a Royal Knight."
Grand Hoof nodded. "That's right. Royal Knights are the highest level of security in Equestria, second only to the princess."
Celestia nodded in kind. "Royal Knights are rarely created. Usually, only a pony that has done extraordinary deeds or trained under other Royal Knights can be accepted into their ranks."
"Currently, only twelve Royal Knights are alive at the moment." Grand Hoof finished. "And if you accept, you may be the thirteenth one day.”
"But why would you think I could be a Royal Knight?" Flash asked, his colt mind still confused over this sudden offer. "I'm nothing special."
"That's where you're wrong." Grand Hoof explained as he patted the colt again. "Your ability on the obstacle course shows you've got skill. What you told me about your past with Twilight shows you have heart. You tried to help somepony you barely knew and your survival on your own for so long shows you have will. You have the potential to be a Royal Knight, my boy. You've shown it in mind, body and soul."
Flash thought about what Grand Hoof had said. Him, a Royal Knight. He had never seen himself in such a special role. In fact, he never saw himself as much of anything except a survivor. But Grand Hoof could be right. Maybe this was his calling.
"So what do you say Flash?" Celestia asked, a calm smile shining from her face. "It would involve you spending most days here training."
Coming to the castle everyday, doing more stuff like the assault course he had enjoyed, learning to fight with swords and spears. He really wanted to try those. He could only think about the possibilities, that is, till he turned to Twilight. In the one moment he turned to Twilight for her thoughts, he saw the look of amazement in her eyes. He knew she wanted him to try it from that look alone. His mind made up, he turned back to Celestia and Grand Hoof.
"So, what's my first lesson?"
Everypony cheered at his response, happy about his choice. As for Flash, he had just taken his first steps towards his destiny.