//------------------------------// // Wednesday- 6 days until Day: 1 // Story: The Equestrian Royal Guard // by Elusive Phoenix //------------------------------// 6 days until Day: 1 I woke up laying down, curled up in a ball, on the floor. I hate those dreams where you have no idea what happened, then you wake up in a different place than you started. I stood up and threw my sheets onto my bed, and prepared for packing. I actually surprised myself with how little I had in my house. Food, bed, books, two hats, my winter wrap up vest, which I wore during the whole winter, since I spent most of the time moving, it gets really hot, so I want heat, but not a lot, sunglasses, a whistle, a schedule of the weather, and Tank was in his cage in the corner. OH CRAP!!! I forgot about Tank! I can’t take him with me! ‘What do I do?’ I looked around the room, unsure what solution I was looking for. My eyes widened at the solution. ‘No, that would just be cruel!’ ‘But you have no choice!’ ‘He was there for ten years without a real owner, you can’t just send him back!’ ‘You’ll visit him any time you get the chance!’ ‘But he might get the wrong idea!’ ‘You need to do it. It is your only option!’ I knew I was right. I opened his cage, and strapped on his turtle-copter that Pinkie made, “Come on buddy, we have to go somewhere for a bit.” We flew over to Fluttershy’s in less than three minutes, which is odd, seeing as she’s across Ponyville, and we were going a lot slower than regular flight. Physics are weird. It was pretty simple: Talk to Fluttershy, reassure her I won’t get hurt in the guard, give her Tank, reassure him I’ll be back, wait for him to complete his smile, fly home and pack. What did I pack? The things I found most important: Picture of me and my friends, sunglasses for dramatic moments, the first Daring Doo book, my Winter wrap up vest, and my old Wonderbolts baseball cap that I wore when I was a kid. Seeing the cap reminded me of my greatest possession. If my house was set on fire (I know it can’t) and I had time to grab one thing, it would be this. I pulled it out from under my mattress. A small Wonderbolts doll. I grew up with this thing. I never lost it, because I loved it too much to take my eyes off it. I will never let go of this. I pulled out two pictures from under the mattress too. One depicted me at my first Wonderbolt show with my dad, and I was about to get a signed picture. And the other picture was of me when I was just born, holding the doll in my mouth. I wanted to cry at how cute I was. I took all four items and carefully packed each one into my suitcase carefully. ‘Well, I have packing out of my way, now I have a whole week to inform my friends, and enjoy freedom.’ My face drooped. Why don’t I realize these things before? Who to visit first? Applejack? No, I’ll tell her later, when she’s not busy. Rarity? She’ll make me pose for a dress. Pinkie Pie? NO. She’ll be the last one, and she’ll want to throw me a party. Fluttershy? Informed. I’ll hang out with her later. That left one pony. She’ll be wondering what my decision was. Twilight Sparkle. I knocked on the door to the insanely large tree-brary, and patiently waited. Spike opened the door and looked up at me. “Oh, hey Dash! Need something?” he said. “Uh, yeah, is Twilight home?” 'Déjà vu.' “Yeah, hold on a sec.” He closed the door and hurried to get Twilight. The door opened a minute or so later (Why am I so patient?) to reveal Twilight Sparkle. “Oh, hi Rainbow! How can I help you?” “I joined the guard.” “… What?” “I joined the guard.” “And they accepted you?” “Yeah?” “But there hasn’t been a mare in the guard for over one hundred years!” “Why, is that a problem?” Twilight opened her mouth to reply, but shut it when she thought better. “I only have a week left until I’m stuck in Canterlot, so I’m trying to make the best of it!” Twilight smiled, “Okay! That’s… good!” her smile faded slightly, but still showed signs of sincerity, “Why are you talking to me about this?” “Because you’re my friend, and I want to spend time with each of my friends before I leave!” Twilight smiled with more sincerity, “Oh, alright! So uh… what do you want to do?” I thought for a while before coming up with an answer, “Why haven’t we ever just had lunch?” “Because you never wanted to go to any restaurants.” “Well, we should change that!” “What is this place called?” I asked, taking in the decorations on the walls and ceiling. “Fancy Dining, it’s the fanciest restaurant in Ponyville!” She replied happily. ‘Well, that explains a lot.’ “Uh, huh. So, what food do they have here?” “Daisy sandwiches, hay fries, eggs, toast, all sorts of foods!” “Twilight, you just named most of our daily meals. I could get any of those for cheap in half the time they take to make it here.” “But these taste AMAZING!” “They’re still good no matter how well they were made.” “Just try some.” Twilight stated impatiently. “*Groan* fine.” We ordered our food, and surprisingly, it did taste better than usual meals. We talked about… well, stuff. You know, normal stuff. Then came the big statement. “We’re going to miss you Rainbow. We all are.” Twilight said with a saddened expression. “I’ll miss you guys too.” I smiled to Twilight, trying to remember this exact moment to help me on my journey. Moral boosts and all that. She smiled back. *Click*. Picture taken. By the time we left the building, the sun was setting. As we left, Twilight asked, “How long will you be gone?” “It’s like a never ending job, with a few breaks now and then. You won’t see me for another five to six months from what I know, or maybe longer.” I moved my leg around Twilight’s neck and pulled her close. She returned the gesture. We stood there for a good ten seconds, hugging each other for the last time in a while. As we let go, I remembered, “Pinkie is probably going to throw a party later this week, so expect to see me again soon.” I smiled. Twilight smiled back, “Good to know. See you then!” “Goodbye, Twilight.” She trotted away to the library, which I could see from here. I unfurled my wings, and took off back home. I’m sorry, again, but I don’t know what Dash and Twilight would do together, so I couldn’t find another way to make it longer. REALLY SHORT AGAIN. *Self punch* I’m too lazy to make the beginning longer, I just want to get it away from me. After that, chapters could be from 5-10K, I dunno. Next chapter, a day with Applejack.