//------------------------------// // Chapter 23 // Story: Responsibilities // by Hiver //------------------------------// “Gee, I wonder why you decided to tag along on this?” I asked Sunset with a raised eyebrow as she trotted along next to me. “What, inspecting the Solar Guard? Why in Equestria would I miss it?” she answered with a grin, “All those colts standing around at attention...” I rolled my eyes, “So, how long was it since you saw Twilight?” “...Couple of weeks,” Sunset sighed, “This long distance thing is getting a bit old to be honest. I really like her, but...” I frowned slightly at her, “You know, you don’t need to stay in Canterlot. You could move to Ponyville.” Sunset shook her head, “I have my entire life here now, and I’m not exactly a country pony,” she admitted before she shrugged, “And not like Twi would be less busy with me there. I might be able to see her every day for an hour or two, but… she is always doing her entire friendship thing.” “I bet she would make time for you, Sunny. She's too smart to be stupid enough not to. It’s just that it takes almost a day on train to get to Canterlot.” She nodded, “It’s a bit far.” If I could only see Luna every couple of weeks… wow, that would suck. I nodded and then hmmed before I smiled at her, “You know… I have an idea.” Sunset blinked, “What?” “Well… I’m pretty sure I can move ponies between dreams,” I said thoughtfully, “Me traveling between them is easy and pulling somepony along shouldn’t be too difficult. I should run it by Luna real quick before I do it, but in theory, I could let you and your ‘Twi’ meet up tonight.” She gasped, “You can do that!?” I nodded, “In theory? Yes. But I would have to stick around to keep you safe, I really don’t want to see what would happen to a non-dreamwalker if the dream collapses while you are in it.” “Page, if you pull this off, I’ll kiss you!” “Promises, promises,” I teased her. She winked and then grinned, “Oh, and speaking of guards, the first round of recruiting for yours is finishing up. Plan is to end up at twenty or so after basic training. “Well, at least you aren’t trying to recruit me an army.” Sunset laughed, “There were a lot of applicants, you know.” “Really?” “Yep. We could pick and choose the best ones.” “I didn’t expect that many,” I admitted, “I would have figured that most that wanted to join would have joined Celestia's or at least Luna's guard.” Sunset shrugged a bit. “Lord Page,” Captain Flamestrike said with a nod as I approached the parade grounds, “The Guard stands ready for your inspection.” “Thank you, Captain,” I told him, “But to be completely honest, I’m not sure how this works,” I then admitted. That got a grin from the unicorn, “There isn’t much of it to be honest, sir, mainly just walking along the lines and looking calm.” I slowly nodded, “That I should be able to pull off.” “I have full confidence in you, sir.” Grinning I looked at Sunset, “See? That’s how you snark at a superior. Not whatever you are doing, you are way too obvious.” “I’ll think about it whenever I find somepony superior,” Sunset said with a smile, “Like Princess Luna or Princess Celestia.” “What, not Twilight?” She grinned, “Oh, she is. But I don’t snark at her.” “…Fair point,” I chuckled and rolled my eyes, “Come on, Sunny. Let’s go look at the shiny armor.” “Make sure to tell me how the armor is,” Sunset teased, “I won’t be looking at it much.” Somepony is in a mood today. I facehoofed and looked at a patient looking Flamestrike, “See what I have to deal with?” I asked him, “Let’s get going before she gets started with the rest of her stand up comedy act. Trust me, it gets worse from here.” “Yes sir,” he answered, sounding amused. Nodding, I adjusted my cloak and Sunset quickly copied me, adjusting her own before we followed him outside. Walking out into the bright sunlight I could see row after row of guardsmen lined up, armor shining in the light. Separated between earth ponies, unicorns and pegasi in blocks of five by five ponies. With so many ponies, they weren’t identical. Close, but heights and builds were slightly different. Taking a slight breath, I walked up along Captain Flamestrike, Sunset moving up next to me, her face serious and taking an air of looking slightly bored as she trotted along. Let’s do this then.