//------------------------------//
// Chapter 4: Camaraderie 
// Story: Breaking Dawn 
// by Detsella Morningdew 
//------------------------------//

Aurora's walk to Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns gave her an odd sense of nostalgia, despite her last visit being so recent. For the first time in a while, she was visiting it from "outside the castle," so to speak.

It wasn't that she was physically using the front entrance. Not really. It was more that her home was back where it was before. She wasn't "of the castle" anymore. It didn't even feel like she was part of the school. She was just another pony walking through the front doors.

"Aurora! It's so nice to see you again!"

Her face brightened at Meadowlark's greeting. There were few ponies that Aurora trusted completely. There was Smarty, of course. And her parents. And more recently, she had become comfortable with the Princesses, for the most part. But with all the changes in her life, her brain couldn't help but pin some of the blame on them, even if ascension wasn't really their fault.

Meadowlark, however, had only been supportive from the beginning, even if they didn't talk as often as Aurora's conscience assured her they should.

"Good morning!"

The beige unicorn smirked. "I heard the news. I suppose I'm allowed to brag about you now?"

Aurora blushed. Smarty just nodded. "Yep!"

"Smarty! Not helping. But, um... Meadowlark?"

"You can just call me Meadow if you like."

"Right. Um. Celestia kinda gave me a... break, of a sorts, in my studies. So I have a lot more time now. And I kinda want to tell you a few things-"

She nodded briskly. "Of course. CSGU's foyer isn't exactly the most private of locations." Her smile became a lot more cheerful. "And I'm looking forward to meeting you properly, rather than a few random conversations. My house is just down the road, the light blue one with the tiled roof."

Aurora blinked.

"I get off at twelve, by the way."

"Oh, um, thank you. See you then?"

She chuckled. "See you then."

Aurora walked out of the glass double doors, slightly dazed. She turned to Smarty. "What was that about?"

Smarty just rolled her eyes. "Most ponies are actively trying to make friends. Meadowlark likes you. You finally gave her the chance."

She looked down. "Now I kinda feel guilty it's just to tell her about this whole mess."

Smarty bumped her lightly at the shoulder. "Hey, it doesn't have to just be about... all this. She's your friend. Or at the very least, the closest thing you have to one. We can stay up a bit late if it means we get to know her a bit better."

Aurora took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "Okay. I guess you're right. But what do I even talk about with her?"

"Earth pony magic? I dunno, Mom. Figure out what she likes, I guess."

"Is friendship really that simple?"

Smarty shrugged. "Heck if I know. But if we're going to keep up with the training thing, we should probably find that Junior Guard place."

"Right, right. Do you know where that is? I thought it was organized by schools."

"Don't look at me. I know less than you do."

Aurora gave her a look.

"...Well, I might have paid attention to something you didn't, I guess."

"Why I asked. You like watching Day Court, for crying out loud."

Smarty huffed, blowing her mane out of her eyes. "Well, I don't know where the Junior Guard might be, but I do know where the actual guard recruitment area is. Maybe we can ask there."

Aurora chuckled. "Yeah, I guess that makes a lot of sense." And after a brief hug, they were on their way, with Smarty in the lead. While the recruitment building for the Guard was quite close to the castle geographically, it was not a building that ponies needed to pass every day. Ponies that wanted to join the Guard sought it out, usually soon after they finished school. Usually with an appropriate talent that matched Guard activities.

As such they soon left the main roads with their large, smoothed flagstones, and onto rougher (though still well-maintained) cobble. This was the kind of stone that paved the roads in the residential areas of Canterlot, and Aurora couldn't help but find the arched mosaic of squares somehow reminiscent of home.

Her face slowly looked up from the ground, taking in more of the carefully landscaped, yet natural looking surroundings. It was a familiar sight, the trees, flowers, and grass placed strategically in between clean and elegant buildings. It was... beautiful, even if she did prefer the locations Luna brought them for their training. There obviously was a good reason that tourists still came to visit Canterlot, even without visiting any of the Princesses, or sightseeing at the castle.

It was strange, seeing Canterlot as if she hadn't lived here all her life, but for the first time, her life felt... empty. In a good way. No longer did she have to worry about what school she went to, or how ponies thought about her. Sure, she had to worry about ponies not accepting that she was in this position as Celestia's student... but somehow their opinion mattered far less. She didn't even have studies to worry about at the moment. Not that she didn't control herself. The only pressing matter was her own body messing things up. Forcing her to live in the moment until that happened.

Looking at this Guard thing? It wasn't even something Celestia suggested.

They finally stopped at building that seemed rather plain. The sign above the door clearly marked it as the "Equestrian Forces Recruitment Center," but the building was plain brick. It certainly wasn't in disrepair, and it didn't particularly stand out from the more civilian businesses nearby, but it was quite utilitarian. Aurora found it odd that anything so closely related to the Princesses was like this. The castle behind the establishment seemed equally strange to her. If Canterlot Castle had a bad angle, this was certainly it. It was certainly not optimized for aesthetics, at least.

Like the building itself, the Castle didn't appear ugly or disheveled, just jarringly practical. While certainly, the whole picture was fitting for a military setting, it was still surprising to find in Canterlot.

After a quick check to make sure the building was open (there were no hours posted), they walked inside.

The place was surprisingly cozy, a thick but firm carpet softening the noise of their hooves. There were two tables set up opposite each other across the room, each in the colors of their respective Guards. Aurora briefly made a note to herself that Princess Twilight did, in fact, have her own branch of guards. But they amounted to a sizable personal guard, and nothing else. They obviously weren't looking for recruits.

The main thing that surprised her was that, while there were a few guards near their respective desk, the recruiters themselves did not have their armor on. Perhaps the lack of uniformity helped with the personal relation with potential recruits. Or maybe they just didn't want to be hot when they didn't need to be. Aurora knew first-hoof from her training armor. Smarty's protection never had that problem, of course.

As soon as the door closed, all eyes were on the two of them for a few seconds, before the Day side of the room focused their attention back on the one pony already there.

But the Night Guard ponies' eyes still remained on her, their expressions seeming almost curious.

Noticing that the Day table was still busy, Aurora shrugged and walked over to them. They were just looking for information, anyway.

The mare at the desk was a thestral, a common sight in the Night Guard due to their nocturnal tendencies, but Aurora had to admit that she had always associated the dark grey color of the disguised Guards' coats with the tribe themselves. The pale yellow thestral, therefore, gave her a small moment of confusion. Her bright red hair likewise made Aurora momentarily consider that the Night Guard's disguise might serve a secondary, stealth utility.

She greeted Aurora warmly, though the slight smirk on her muzzle gave her an impression that she noticed the momentary surprise.

"So, what can I do for you two?"

Aurora managed to look embarrassed. "Actually, we're just looking for where to find the Junior Guard."

The mare looked thoughtful. "Hmm. I could certainly give you that information, and of course, I'll do so immediately should you indicate that, indeed, that is the path you want to choose. But before that, I feel that I should rephrase my question.

"What do you want from the Guard? And more importantly, what do you want from your life?"

When Aurora froze up at the question, Smarty looked to the recruiter. "Do you mean in the short, or long term?"

"Both. The short term lets me check if the Junior Guard is indeed your next step, and the long term lets me check if the Night Guard would suit you overall."

That shook Aurora out of her stupor. "Oh. Well, in the short term, both of us want to learn nonlethal ways to take down an opponent should combat occur."

"Hmm."

"In the long term..." Aurora took a few moments to think of a way to say anything without giving away too much information. "While I do want to protect ponies... and Equestria... I have current responsibilities. Responsibilities that tie me to Canterlot."

The mare looked at her closely. "You are Princess Celestia's new student, right?"

"Right. And while Celestia's... curriculum is rather flexible at the moment, that might not be true for very long, and isn't there a minimum amount of time you have to commit to the Guard? Also, I'm... a bit younger than I look."

She smiled. "That last one is a bit of a misconception. While new recruits usually wait to join after finishing school, the only notable requirement that most fail before that time is a minimum amount of physical fitness. While vanishingly rare, it is possible for a filly or colt as young as twelve to join with their parents' approval.

"More importantly, in your case here, the Junior Guard is not what you are looking for. While you were correct that it is a wonderful program to get some basic Guard training before joining, the skill you were looking to learn is not taught there. Subduing somepony requires that you have more strength, or more refined techniques than the opponent, not something that foals naturally possess. You are more likely to find things like survival skills, basic discipline and physical training."

"Oh."

"For the second point of yours, the Night Guard is a lot more... irregular than the Day. A lot more flexible. Especially if those irregularities are endorsed by a Princess, if that tells you anything. And as for staying rooted in Canterlot... while we are sent on missions to every city in Equestria, we have no other base other than Canterlot. Only the E.U.P travel in that fashion."

"Ah. So I should ask Celestia? Or would it be better to ask Luna?"

"We aren't quite so... biased as we used to be. While we only take direct orders from Princess Luna, the other Princesses' words still hold quite a bit of weight. If this is indeed the direction you feel your life should take, I would suggest asking your teacher directly."

Aurora nodded, thinking. This was certainly not what she had planned this morning, but it was making more and more sense. Celestia had been worrying about personal relations with family and friends. The problems with learning with Celestia and training with Luna had been that it was only them and her. And for security reasons, it needed to stay that way.

But if she was with the Guard, she would not only learn with them and keep up with her training, she would be around other ponies. Possibly making friends like Celestia suggested. And her current friend was always working for most of the day, except for maybe the weekends. If she woke up in the evening, maybe around the ninth hour, and stayed awake for most of the night instead...

Her parents might not be too happy with the change, but as long as she made sure to spend time with them often, it might just work.

Aurora nodded at the recruitment mare. "Thank you. I think I might do that. What was your name?"

She gave them a slight smile. "Silent Wind. I hope to see you soon."





Once they were clear of the recruitment center, and on their way back to the castle, Smarty turned to her. "Mom, are you sure about this? Being a Night Guard is a lot different than just getting some extra training."

Aurora sighed. "I know that, Smarty. And if you don't want to, you don't need to follow me on this one. I can always teach you later when I have time. But I need this. With all that happened recently, I don't know my body anymore, and I don't want to spend another year doing nothing but forgetting more of our training."

"I get that, but the Guard is a lot more than just training."

Aurora looked down. "I know that too. But down there, in that cave, I realized something important. All this time, I've been thinking of myself, and how everypony wronged me. Sure, magic is my talent, but if I don't do anything with it, it'll be all for nothing. Protecting others, whether they deserve it or not... that seems like a good use. Not to mention good practice."

Smarty nodded.

"And there might even be a hidden benefit to this as well, but I'll have to talk to Celestia about it to see if it would work."

"I think I'll join you."

Aurora looked back. "Wait, are you sure?"

Smarty rolled her eyes. "How else am I going to spend time with you?"

Aurora opened her mouth, but was cut off almost immediately.

"That's not the only reason. I like protecting ponies. I like protecting you. And I'm pretty sure there's a system in the Guard where you can ask to be in the same training group and stuff as your friends, if you sign up together."

Aurora looked around. "I mean... you don't even have your cutie mark yet."

"Can I even get a cutie mark? Does it even matter? I already know my purpose."

She started to look extremely uncomfortable. Smarty noticed.

"Look, I already said, I want to do this with you. And you aren't the only reason why. Besides, what else am I supposed to do with my time?"

Aurora nodded, but it was clear she was still uncertain.

"Look, I went through the same training you did. I know what we're in for. But if I wasn't so... close to you, I might have tried joining already. I only said what I did to make sure that you didn't just join for the lessons, that's all."

Aurora nodded again, a lot more firmly. "All right. Thanks, Smarty." She pushed the castle doors open. "Now, let's go see Celestia."





Fortunately for both of them, Day Court had paused for lunch, and it was quite easy to find Celestia in the dining hall, rather than wait until court was over.

Twilight was also there for her breakfast, which was nice. She seemed to have already drunk her morning coffee, which was even better. She might actually be coherent enough to understand what they were talking about.

Celestia smiled as they walked in. "Aurora! I didn't expect to see you so soon. What is the occasion?"

Smarty answered first. "She wanted to join the Night Guard, and wanted your go-ahead."

Celestia raised an eyebrow.

Aurora glared at Smarty, then turned back to Celestia. "This wasn't completely on a whim. This would just solve a lot of our problems at once. I would still have enough time to visit with my family and existing friend... and might have a chance to make some more, at the same time as learning to defend myself and protect others. Maybe not as good as Luna's training, since we couldn't use certain abilities... but still."

Celestia nodded. "I see."

"And the recruiter said the Night Guard is a bit more flexible should I need to retire early, especially if it came from you or Luna."

"You already spoke to a recruiter? Did you get their name?"

"I think it was Silent Wind?"

She nodded again. "I trust her methods more than most. And if what my sister says about her guard is indeed true, she was right about that statement."

"There was also another thing I thought of. Earlier, you said I would have to stay in the castle until I learned some disguise magic. I don't know if this would work, per se, but wouldn't Guard armor's glamour spells work as well?"

Celestia smiled. "We might have to do some tricky work with identity paperwork, as it does not change the number of limbs you have, but that is a decent idea. We can only hope that your mane does not change too soon. While it is the easiest to learn how to hide on a personal level, the glamours will not be able to disguise it unaided.

"It is still limiting to be forced to wear your armor when leaving the castle, but I feel that it will be significantly healthier for your mental state. If you are looking for my approval, you have it."

Twilight looked up from her food. "Aurora, after the basic training, there is an oath before you become a full Night Guard. Make sure you mean it."

Aurora nodded, looking at her uncertainly.

"Don't worry about it. I just wanted to make sure you weren't falling into a common trap. Joining for the potential benefits rather than because you actually wanted to. If you really needed it, we could send a qualified trainer to watch over you."

"No, the more I think about it, it doesn't just make sense, I feel like it's something I should do."

She smiled. "Then I certainly won't keep you from it. Just... make sure to tell Luna before you're in front of her to give your oath."