Canterlot was in complete disarray. The black carapace bugs kept raining down on us and seemingly my section of wall in particular. That may have been because we were putting up strong resistance, but no matter how many we captured in nets, shot with crossbows, or zapped, more just came.
It also didn’t help that Ice Blossom and I were backed into a corner, trapped outside of the towers, and facing down what looked like other royal guards.
“LT, I’m getting tired here and there isn’t much left of my helmet,” Blossom said before slumping back against the tower’s door. “Are you sure they can’t just let us in?”
“Blossom, I don’t know who is who and that area has to stay secure. It is one of the few places those stupid pests haven’t gotten into yet. We just need to hold out longer,” I replied, knowing I was pushing my body to the limits, too. That was a fact I hid.
She nodded and forcefully threw her helmet into the face of an approaching guard. He went down without much fanfare and I snatched the helmet up in my magic and returned it to her.
Where was our relief? Was anypony coming? We’d been fighting for what seemed like hours. It probably wasn’t anywhere close to that, but it felt like it. All of the exercising and practicing. All of the galloping and dancing. None of it really prepared me for a drawn-out battle.
Two bugs flew down towards us, not even bothering to pretend to be ponies. I ducked my head and pointed my horn right at them. With as much care as I could, I pulled in magic from around me and focused it. A wide beam burst out from the tip, but when it hit the pair, they only slowed down.
“Uh oh,” Ice Blossom squeaked before throwing her helmet in their direction. It missed massively and just sailed down into the courtyard. It probably ended up with my spear.
The guards in the tower had run out of crossbow bolts so they were throwing whatever they had available. I saw a plate adorned with Shining Armor’s face sail by.
“Get ready!” I told Blossom, bracing myself to go hoof to hoof with the bugs.
Just as they were about to smash into me, I felt a massive surge of magic. From within the heart of the palace, a burst of energy spread out, catching all of the bugs in its path.
When it washed over me, it felt warm. It made me think of my relationship with Dolly and my mom. Loving, fun, and kind. It knocked the bugs off course and carried them away. The fake ponies went, too. Whatever the spell was, it didn’t work on the real thing.
“Oh, thank Celestia,” Ice Blossom said before collapsing onto the battlement.
All around us, ponies started to cheer.
It was over, we’d won! Well, we’d held out long enough for a powerful unicorn to win, but I’d take it. The guards around me started celebrating but that is when I noticed a lot of them were hurt. Some were down.
The area was a mess. I wasn’t sure we were out of danger yet and it would be too risky to let our guard down. As much as it pained me, it was time to act like the officer I was.
The manual and all the training I’d had started to play through my mind. What did you do after a battle? There hadn’t been a lot about it. Battles simply didn’t happen! Especially not to royal guards. Still, there was enough to get me going. Take control of the situation, assess the damage, prepare for another attack, and hold your post.
Standing up to my full height, I shouted, “Sergeants, report in immediately. Let’s get the wounded triaged. We don’t know how long that barrier is going to last. I want this wall secured!”
I waved a hoof at Ice Blossom. “Go find your squad and check in.”
“Yes, ma’am!” she replied before hurrying off.
Once she was gone I allowed myself a sigh of relief and a moment of weakness. That had been scary. In the moment I’d relied on my training and power but now that it was done things were shifting. The adrenaline was wearing off and I was feeling weak.
Sergeant Rice hurried over to me. “Ma’am, my whole squad is accounted for. Three with minor wounds, one serious.”
“Assign two of the guards with the minor wounds as litter carriers and get that pony to the hospital immediately,” I ordered.
“Ma’am!” he said before rushing off. After he did, I reached under my armor and pulled a small notebook from the pouch hidden there. I wrote down the squad and the wounded.
Not long after, Sergeant Butterbrew limped up. His right foreleg was clearly broken. It just hung limp but he was acting as if he wasn’t in pain. “Lieutenant, all ponies accounted for. Six minor wounds, no serious.”
“No serious?”
He shook his head. “None, ma’am.”
“Sergeant Butterbrew, are you going to make me point out that your leg is broken?”
He looked down at it. “I wouldn’t call a broken leg more than a minor wound, ma’am.”
Butterbrew, Butterbrew, Butterbrew. He was as tough as they came. “Do any of your other minor wounds have broken limbs?”
“No, ma’am!”
I wrote it down in my notebook. “Sergeant, assign an acting squad leader and limp your way to the hospital. That’s an order.”
“If it’s an order, ma’am! If those beasties come back before I do, save me a few.” He saluted before limping off.
One by one, my sergeants and the temporary ones that had been assigned to me for the wedding showed up and made their reports. They were all similar: lots of minor wounds with some serious. Mercifully, there were no fatalities. There were two missing in action, though. We’d have to sort that out.
“I want the net throwers reloaded!” I ordered. “Sergeant Skittles, get somepony down to the armory to grab as many crossbow bolts as we can get. I want to be ready for the next wave!”
“I see your section of the wall held,” came the familiar voice of Vice Colonel Glamour. She was making the rounds, assessing the state of the castle.
I snapped to attention. “Yes, ma’am! We weren’t about to let go. Although with them flying and coming from above, I’m not sure what we did qualifies as keeping them out.”
The vice colonel shrugged. “You did your duty as expected. Give me your numbers, please.”
Without missing a beat, I rattled off the figures from the notebook.
“Good. You kept your head about you. Not everypony did,” she said flatly. “I’m glad to know that the princess’s faith in you was not misplaced. Carry on, Lieutenant. Prepare for another assault but I can assure you it will not come.”
“Ma’am? Are you sure?”
“I am. The leader of the creatures, a queen of some sort, has been sent far from our kingdom through the Captain’s magic. Without her, they’re likely to be uncoordinated. At least so Princess Celestia says. Evidently, she’s run into changelings before.”
“Changelings? Is that what they are?”
“So she says and so I believe. Believe or not, however, prepare for another assault. She is not often wrong, but if she were to be, we’d be ill equipped in our current state. We’ve sent for the nearest battalion of the Army. They’ll arrive shortly. Until then, carry on.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I replied before turning back to my duty.
I didn’t recall hearing about changelings in my magical creatures’ class. Although in all fairness to the instructor of that class, I slept through most of it and spent the rest of it looking at the minotaur drawings. They had huge w—
“Where do you want these supplies, Lieutenant?” some guard I didn’t know asked me. He had a load of bolts, bandages, rations, and other things we’d need.
“Divide them among the towers. We’re going to hold up in those. The bugs couldn’t get in them.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
I shifted my attention to the city itself. There were some fires burning but for the most part it looked in good shape. I’m sure ponies would be shaken up over the whole thing. First Nightmare Moon and now Changelings.
Things had been odd lately.
I’d have to check in on Dolly and the girls as soon as I was relieved, which would be a while. It was unlikely that we’d be released until our relief arrived. Perhaps even longer while everything was sorted out. That was going to be a slow process.
“Everypony be sure you drink water! Draw supplies from the towers!” I ordered before taking my own advice. We’d have a hard time fighting off another assault like the first, but the element of surprise was gone.
After that, I spent a couple of hours moving my ponies around, taking stock of what supplies we had, and ensuring our standard posts were covered. Battle or not, we were still responsible for the security of the position.
Ice Blossom trotted up and leaned against the battlement, looking out. “When is the relief coming?”
“I don’t know,” I replied.
“When will you know?”
“I don’t know,” I repeated.
“Have you heard the rumors yet?”
I looked over to her. “What rumors?”
“I heard from Yams who heard from Chocolate, who overheard Major Cinnamon that Princess Celestia was captured again in the fighting. Do you believe that?”
“I don’t think that could be true, right? I mean, these things were normal bugs. They weren’t some dark magic, mythical moon princess.”
Ice Blossom shrugged. “Maybe. Major Cinnamon doesn’t normally exaggerate, though.”
That was true, but Yams did, and Chocolate was just a parrot for Yams.
“Oh, and I did hear the bugs got to Princess Luna,” Blossom added. “They didn’t capture her, but they got to her and messed up one of her guards pretty badly.”
“Who’d you hear that from?”
“Sergeant Skittles heard it from somepony while he was helping get supplies.”
Lieutenant Dyke had been responsible for both princesses. It seemed like he may have been a screw-up based on the rumor mills.
It wasn’t long after that before Major Cinnamon and a few other officers made the rounds of the wall. They were trying to make us feel like we hadn’t been woefully unprepared and surprised. They were doing a poor job of it too.
We’d won, sure, but overall, our response had been weak. Not mine, of course. I’d not given up a single tower or my wall. The palace had been breached, though, and that was an embarrassment all around. There would be some changes coming and some trouble for some ponies.
On the topic of trouble, I noticed that Radiant Orchid was out on the battlement and heading my way.
“Hey, kid,” Radiant Orchid called as she reached me.
“It’s lieutenant, Sergeant,” I replied, in no mood for her dismissive nature.
“Alright. Hey, Lieutenant Sergeant.”
I took a deep breath, trying not to say anything short. “What do you want pink stuff?”
“I don’t want anything, but the boss wants a word,” she said before motioning towards the palace.
“You’re kidding, right? You know I can’t leave here.”
“Orders from the top. Put a sergeant in charge and let’s get going. Don’t keep Captain Armor waiting.”
Captain Armor? “Why did he send you? You don’t normally run errands for him.”
“I do for now. Come on, let’s go,” Orchid said before turning and starting to walk away.
“Sergeant Ice Blossom, you have the wall. Command wants to see me,” I called before following after Orchid.
If Sergeant Orchid had been in any of the combat she didn’t show it. Her house guard armor was still shiny, and I couldn’t even see a scratch on her. For all I knew she was some sort of combat savant or she’d been hiding.
“I heard they got to the princesses,” I said.
“I heard that too,” she replied without looking back.
“Weren’t you there?”
“For one of them, yeah.”
“Are you trying to be as short with me as possible?”
Radiant Orchid came to a stop and looked back at me. “Lieutenant, with all due respect, you talk a lot and you aren’t much for the rules. I don’t care for it but in the past it hasn’t mattered. You’ve got your command and it is far from me.
“All I had to deal with was you being Princess Celestia’s friend. She sends me, we have our little verbal war, and then we get on with our life. The sad thing about this is that I’m pretty sure you could be better if you wanted to.
“I’ve been around long enough to read a pony’s character pretty well. I think under all of that makeup and custom armor is a fine officer, but you spend your time staring at rumps and gossiping with a sergeant.”
That was it. She’d pushed me to the end of my patience. I’d just defended my wall to the best of my ability, and she had the audacity to lecture me! “Now you listen here!”
“I’m going to pass on that. We’re here,” Orchid said before pushing a side door open and motioning. “In.”
My wrath was replaced by confusion. Where were we? This wasn’t any kind of grand hall. There was no command section here. We were just in some obscure part of the palace. Was this a prank? I glared at her as I walked past. She trotted in behind me.
It took less than two seconds to read the room and realize this was not a prank. It was not a prank at all. I’d just been shown into some small, insignificant meeting room. The kind you found all over the place for impromptu chats.
This one was full of significant ponies. Princess Celestia was sitting on a big pillow behind an overturned table. She had her wing resting protectively over a very rough looking Lady Cadence. She had no makeup, dark bags under her eyes, and her coat was filthy. She didn’t look like a bride; she looked like me after a two-day bender.
Twilight Sparkle was with them, resting protectively on the other side of Lady Cadence. She looked out of sorts and kind of dirty, too. That wasn’t unexpected though, she never knew how to dress or primp.
The whole set was completed by Captain Armor. The expression on his face was not pleasant. It was the angriest one I’ve ever seen him have. What had I done?
“Uh, what’s going on?” I asked dumbly while trying not to feel overwhelmingly intimidated.
“Lieutenant Day, delivered as ordered, sir.” Orchid said from behind me.
“Thank you, Sergeant,” Shining Armor said before he looked at me. “Lieutenant Day, thank you for coming.”
“I didn’t really have a choice, but you’re welcome,” I replied and immediately cringed. What a stupid thing to say to an angry officer.
He smirked and passively ground a hoof into the floor. “Right, let me get down to this if you’ll keep your comments to the end. Lieutenant Dyke grossly failed in his responsibilities and has been sacked. As of now, both house guards are reporting directly to me.”
I gawked. The rumors were true!
Captain Armor went on, “I don’t know you well, Lieutenant. You received your current command due to your extraordinary service during the Summer Sun Celebration. Beyond that, by all accounts, you’ve done what you’re supposed to do with that command. By the same token, I don’t believe you’ve stood out as exemplary.”
What was this meeting about? Hadn’t I done a good job today and in the months I’d been in command? This was ridiculous! “Sir, I did a good job out there today! I didn’t lose a pony or a tower!”
He held his hoof up. “I know, I’m sure you did. I’m not saying you didn’t.”
“It sure feels that way!” I snapped before quickly adding, “Sir.”
After a deep breath, he said, “Lieutenant, everypony here has had a rough day so I’m going to politely ask you to bring the indignation down a level and cut me some slack. Alright?”
Politely, huh? I guess that was polite. Maybe I wasn’t in trouble? “Yes, sir. I’m sorry. A lot of my ponies were hurt doing their duty and I’m on edge.”
“Understood. Now, to be clear, you’re here at the request of Princess Celestia,” he pressed on.
I looked over at her and she gave me a warm nod.
“As mentioned, the commander of Princess Celestia’s House Guard failed miserably today. His protection was inadequate and, worse, when he was needed most, he froze up and was unable to perform his duty. A sergeant had to take command of Princess Luna’s security, and Orchid and Storm Rider did the same for Princess Celestia.”
“Oh,” was all I could say. That was horrible. Astral Dyke was a coward?
Shining Armor cut into my musings. “You’re a capable enough officer. I’ve seen that myself and your superiors have said as much. I also hear you’re rough around the edges. Sergeant Orchid there thinks you’re immature and while Sergeant Storm Rider likes you, he also thinks you’re immature.”
What a lovely thing to say about me! Had these ponies all met Cheerful Sun?
“I can’t say for sure either way. All I know is that you’re a young officer without much of a career, yet. In spite of that and in light of our recent failings at picking appropriate commanders, we’re going to try something wholly different. Princess Celestia has urged me—”
“Strongly urged you,” the princess chimed in.
Shining Armor briefly glanced back. “Strongly urged me to make you the commander of her house guard.”
“You’ll be more fun,” the princess added.
“What?” the word just tumbled out of my mouth. How had we gone from insulting me to putting me in charge of Princess Celestia’s security?
“I want you to be my guard commander, Sunny,” Princess Celestia said.
“I’m not qualified!” I squeaked.
“That is what I keep saying,” Sergeant Orchid said from behind me.
“She can’t be any worse than the others, Orchid,” Princess Celestia said. “I’m tired of being foal sat by the sons and daughters of important ponies. They do it for a year or so just so they say they did and move on. I want somepony that will stick around and build a rapport with me.
“My Guard commander should be close to me like Raven. Besides, if you can’t spare one of Equestria’s finest military minds, Sunny will do.”
“Thank you?” I replied.
Shining Armor brought his hoof to his forehead and rubbed it in a small circle. “Alright, enough! This is a Royal Guard decision, I’m the commander. With all due respect, Princess, please stay out of this.”
Princess Celestia huffed and settled her chin on Lady Cadence’s head.
“I am willing to offer you the command on a provisional basis. Do you want the job or not?” Shining Armor asked.
Did I? I did, right? This was the best command for a junior officer in the entire kingdom. It had mostly been ceremonial in the past, which was why all of the fancy ponies got the assignment. That wasn’t going to work anymore after two major security issues. They’d need a real officer. Was I a real officer?
I couldn’t be that bad at it, right? I’d protected my wall and kept my ponies alive. I’d been through some serious fights in my life. It was also what the Princess wanted. I’d already turned down her offer to be my teacher and mentor. If I turned this down, it would be another insult. This was a good middle ground.
“Lieutenant…” Shining Armor prompted.
The other ponies didn’t think I could do this, though. They were just going along with the princess for now until she wasn’t upset. That is what provisional meant. I shook my head. “No, sir.”
Shining Armor blinked. “What? What do you mean, no?”
Princess Celestia’s head perked up. “Sunny?”
It was my time to shine and use the skills Dolly gave me. “No, as in, I don’t want to be the provisional commander. I’ll accept the commander role, but I’m not going to take the job and lose it in a couple of months because somepony in command decides this was a bad idea. I’m sorry, sir, that is a bad deal.
“I mean this with all the respect in the world for you, but if you want change, you have to commit to it. The last two officers in this role lost the princess. Clearly, we weren’t doing things right. You and Orchid and my superiors and my sister may all think I’m an immature screwup, but my file doesn’t read that way.
“I’ve got a big mouth and I might mess around some, but when it comes to my job, I don’t. So if I’m taking this role, I want the real role and I want it my way. Whatever we’ve been doing in the past is done. Things will change if you pick me. So again, I have to say no, sir.”
Radiant Orchid chimed in, “Works for me.”
Shining Armor shot her a look. “Bold move, Lieutenant.”
I shook my head. “Not really, sir. I legitimately don’t want it if it’s a crippled, provisional role that is going to be more of the same. I’m happy on my wall. I’ll go back there, show I’m great, and move on.”
Princess Celestia started slowly clapping her forehooves together.
Everypony looked at her and Lady Cadence looked up, set a hoof over Princess Celestia’s, and whispered, “No, Auntie. Not right now.”
All of the attention then fell back on me. Shining Armor rubbed his forehead. “You’re a frustrating pony.”
“I’m sorry, sir. At least I know you’re taking me seriously because if you weren’t, you’d have already thrown me out.”
Shining Armor looked back at Princess Celestia. “You’re certain?”
“Very. I trust her as much as I trust Twilight.”
Yes! She’d said that right in front of Twilight! That made it all worthwhile.
“Very well. I accept then. Lieutenant Day, you’ll be commander. Obviously if you underperform we’ll make adjustments. You also understand that given our current situation, I will personally be keeping an eye on you and the new commander of Princess Luna’s House Guard?”
“Crystal clear, sir. I’m not afraid of the scrutiny but, as mentioned, changes will be made,” I replied firmly.
“Of course. It is your command. And in that regard, allow me to congratulate you on it. We’ll swear you in later. We have too much going on now. I want you to go take command of the House Guard, build a perimeter, and once you do, we’ll move the princess back to her quarters. Until then, I’m not letting her out of my sight.”
“Yes, sir! Before I go, though, I have a question.”
“Yes?” he replied, trying and failing not to sound put out.
“What happened to Lady Cadence, why is Twilight Sparkle here, and what about my wall? Those ponies need me.” Given my new station, I should know these things!
Shining Armor looked back at his wife and the princess. Lady Cadence had fallen asleep. “She’d been ponynapped some time back. Months, perhaps, and dropped into a deep cavern inside of Alicorn Spire. It was her own tenacity that kept her alive.
“As for Twilight, she was one of two ponies who truly noticed something was off with Cadence. She kept investigating and ultimately found and freed her.”
Twilight chimed in, “I just knew it wasn’t her!”
Suck up.
“Who was the other pony?” I asked.
Princess Celestia chuckled. “Come now, Sunny. You know it was you.”
I did, but I wanted somepony to say it in front of Twilight. When I glanced her way, she didn’t look that upset. She was feigning concern over Lady Cadence.
“Right, right. And my current command?” I asked.
Shining Armor shook his head. “They’ll be fine. I’ll get one of the other shift lieutenants to cover. Go assume command of your new unit and get them straightened out.”
I stiffened to attention. “Yes, sir!”
“Dismissed,” he replied.
That was it then. I was the commander of Princess Celestia’s House Guard. Just like that. I trotted out of the room while Radiant Orchid followed me. Once the door closed behind us, I just stood there.
“Orders, ma’am?” she said dryly.
“I don’t know yet, pink stuff, but I’m going to figure it out fast. Now, take me to the unit because I have no idea where it is.”
“Aye, ma’am,” she replied before trotting off.
I fell in behind her. Even though this might not have been how I wanted to earn such a prestigious command, I was happy about it. Happy enough to prance, subtly, and hope Radiant Orchid couldn’t see it.