Storm was lying on his back atop the comfortable guest suite bed, staring into the distance. The view was breath-taking from the castle. He could see as far as the distant fog, which clouded the far-away foothills, allowed him. Firstly, the Canterlot streets and houses that lined the roads with shiny glazed roof tiles, then the sheer drop down the cliff face to sprawling green fields and welcoming homesteads. A lurking uncomfortableness washed over Storm as he stared blankly out of the window. He felt like being idle was somehow wrong and disrespectful to the position he had been granted; it was a feeling that was hard to put down to paper. Storm consequently stood up and, bed mane and all, briskly walked out of his room into the hallway.
Storm didn’t know what to do in the castle. It’s not like a shopping mall, where there were multiple places to be visited. Every move he made in the castle must be done with a goal in mind. Thinking to himself, he realised that he probably wouldn’t be spending much time around his friends much longer after his training starts. He remembered his promise to make some time for his friends in his schedule so he set off like a stallion on a mission. First, it was to the Lunar wing to find Midnight.
He knew the night guard generally had flipped timetables. Breakfast at six in the evening and dinner in the early hours of the morning. He doubted that Midnight would still be awake at late morning but he thought it wouldn’t hurt to check. Trotting into the Lunar wing was quite a unique experience. The usual gold accents on the walls and white stone was replaced with a darker more porous stone which was still polished smooth. The windows were stained a very dark shade of blue, nearing purple. The carpets and tapestries on the walls were of the same deep blue and only dim white torches burned on the walls.
“Can I help you?” came a smooth voice from behind Storm.
Jumping slightly as he turned, Storm replied, “Yes, uh, do you know if a pony by the name of Midnight Blossom is around?”
“I walked through the barracks a couple minutes ago. All the recruits are asleep at the moment. Only the day guards are awake. I hope that answers your question, young one,” the thestral replied.
“Okay. Thank you,” said Storm as he turned to leave.
“I’m expecting to see more of you around these parts?” the thestral inquired as Storm was turning the corner.
“Yes ma’am,” Storm replied as he rounded the corner and started heading for the Solar wing. He didn’t even realise how expansive the castle was from his basic layout training. Only by walking it could he truly marvel at its size.
As he crossed into the Solar wing, Storm didn’t even notice until he saw a guard wearing the Solar house guard armour trot by. The transition from the castle core and the Solar wing was completely seamless. It wasn’t surprising as the castle was built after Nightmare Moon terrorised Equestria and a new wing was added after her reformation into Princess Luna. Storm soon found himself in an intersection between two corridors and utterly lost. When the walls all looked generally similar, it was quite easy to lose your bearings.
“You look lost, Storm,” a familiar voice said from behind.
Storm jumped and turned around to the source of the voice. There he saw Sunny in full house guard armour.
“For the love of the Creator, Sunny, don’t scare me like that!” Storm sighed in exasperation.
“As I said, you looked a little lost, Storm. Maybe I can show you around a little? I still need to unpack my things into my room,” Sunny said, hopefully.
“Yeah, I don’t have much else to do in the next little while. The airship instructor is off work right now,” Storm answered.
“Then why are you at the castle today?” Sunny asked.
“It’s a long story.”
“I’ve got time.”
As the pair trotted towards Sunny’s room, Storm explained his current situation to Sunny and what he was going to be doing in the days to come.
“So, you get to stay in a guest suite in the castle?” Sunny asked.
“I guess so,” Storm replied
“And you get to dine in the dining hall with the expense covered?”
“Yes. Speaking of which, it’s almost noon. How about I take you to lunch. I didn’t have breakfast so I’m starving,” Storm suggested, “That, and the fact that I’ll probably see you very scarcely over the next few months.”
“Well, did we just walk all that way to my room for nothing?” Sunny moaned, “My bunk buddy will be pissed if I don’t make short work of these boxes crowding the room. Tell you what, I unpack for thirty minutes and then we’ll go.”
Sunny had completed most of her unpacking in the allotted thirty minutes. Her spare uniforms were tucked away neatly in her footlocker along with a few other personal bits and pieces like small booklets and photo albums. The rest of her belongings were arranged neatly on her desk giving the room a less empty and more homey touch.
‘Let’s go!” Storm said from the door excitedly.
Sunny chucked at his enthusiasm and followed him out.
“I just realised, shouldn’t you be on duty today?” Storm asked, “I completely forgot.”
“No, all the new recruits get two days to acclimate to castle life and to get used to the schedule. I’ll be free for the rest of today and tomorrow.”
“Cool,” Storm replied.
After leaving the Solar wing, Storm trotted towards the dining hall.
“Storm?” Sunny called.
“Yes?”
“You’re going the wrong way; the castle gates are on the left.”
“What are you talking about?” Storm asked, “We are going to the dining hall, aren’t we?”
“What?” Sunny replied in shock, “I didn’t agree to this! This isn’t proper. Although I have today off, I’m technically ‘on duty’ right now but I just don’t have to wear my armour. What would the princesses think? I thought we were going out to Canterlot.”
By the time Sunny finished her spiel of complaints, Storm had already dragged her by hoof down the corridor to the dining hall. “Listen Sunny. It’s. Fine,” Storm assured her, “You’re my friend and I probably won’t see you very much in the future. I’m sure that’s a good enough excuse; friendship is magic and all that jazz. Besides, the Captain’s a nice lad.”
Sunny stopped at the entrance of the dining hall. “Look, Storm,” she said in a panicked whisper, “I don’t want to lose my job over lunch.”
“Who’s losing their job?” a voice from behind said.
Sunny whipped her head around like a crazed mare to see the Captain standing before her. “Nopony, s-sir,” Sunny replied with a fake smile.
“Sir, I invited Sunny Days for lunch. Would that be alright?” Storm asked from behind her.
“Ah, Storm. I didn’t see you there. You don’t need to ask me if you can take your marefriend to lunch! You might have to take it up with the Princess though, I’m not sure if she appreciates you stealing her house guards,” Shining winked. “Did I mention yesterday that you will receive officer training along with your airship training? Since you are the only pony in this unit task force combined with the fact that it is volunteer only, you’ll have to be promoted to lieutenant. That means getting your commission.”
“That’s… quite the promotion, sir,” Storm responded.
“You will be just fine, Storm. I shouldn’t be holding you and your marefriend up though, I was about to go have lunch too.”
“She’s not my marefriend, Captain,” Storm said uncomfortably.
“Ah… You two do look cute together though,” Shining suggested as he wiped his brow internally as he salvaged the conversation. “Anyway, I won’t hold you two up any longer. After you, ma’am.”
“Y-yes sir,” Sunny said awkwardly as she walked in.
Before Storm could walk in, the Captain pulled him aside. “After lunch, meet me at my office. I’m sure you know where it is?”
“Yes sir,” Storm replied.
“Good. You’re not getting reprimanded but the nature of the topic discussed will to confidential. Understood?”
“Yes, sir,” Storm replied again.
Storm entered the dining hall followed shortly by the Captain. He saw Sunny standing uncomfortably waiting for them. Only when the Captain and Storm took their seats on the bench did Sunny take hers. The Captain waved a waitress over to take the small group’s orders.
After the waitress had taken their orders, the Captain attempted to strike up some conversation to shatter the deathly silence. “So, uh, Storm.”
Storm raised his eyes from the table to look at his Captain, “Yes Captain?”
“You’ve never told me why you wanted to join the guard.”
“Oh,” Storm replied. “Um, well… I was eleven. We were living in a small military town up north named Stable Meadow and-”
“The Stable Meadow?” Shining asked.
“Yes. The one that got overrun by bandits up north. So, as I was saying, I used to live in that town with my parents. My father was a Pathfinder and my mother a blacksmith’s assistant. It was a cold winter that year. Much colder than usual. The roads from which supplies like food and drinking water were imported were sealed shut by avalanches and heavy snowfall but our town did have enough food to survive until the roads opened up again. With no outside contact, we waited for the long winter to pass in our homes.
“It was very quiet in the winter. It was always quiet in those winters. I remember so vividly that day. I was staring out of the window at the mountains outside. They were truly grand mountains – not like the peaks in the Unicorn Range. I’m talking about their powerful stature and rough look, yet they held an air of ancient wisdom and tranquillity around them. I remember listening to the fire crackle pleasantly behind me while staring out of that window.
“It was then that I heard the smashing of a window outside. The calamity startled me and the entire town. Curious heads peaked out of doors and windows to see shadowy figures draped in woollen cloaks roaming the streets. Then we saw their weapons concealed under their winter clothing, and then the blood that stained their ghostly white cloaks. Bandits were common up in the north. The winter tended to bring out the worst of them.
“I remember dad going out of the door with his giant coat and his sword...”
Storm paused, staring down at the table in front of him. He swallowed hard. He remembered the screams of pain of the brave stallions outside. The shrill clang of the swords. The crackle of the fire magic conjured by the village wizard burning the live bodies of the bandits. All of it, imprinted.
“That was the last I ever saw of him.”
Storm looked up at the Captain with a stare that would make the creator tremble.
“This is why I joined the royal guard. I will serve my fellow ponies as my father did. I will devote my life to a noble cause as my father before me did. It is my duty to ensure his sacrifice was not in vain. I would serve so that if he came back right now, I would be able to hold my head high and say to him that I too served as valiantly as he had.”
The Captain looked at Storm sympathetically. Sunny simply put a foreleg around him.
“I had no idea, Storm,” said the Captain softly. “I’m sorry.”
“You didn’t know,” Storm replied.
The food arrived at the table and the Captain, trailblazer and guard ate in silence with Storm’s words echoing in the air around them.