Chapter 7, chapter 1: The Royal Guard
”Wait, hold on. You want to do WHAT??”
“Do you think it is a bad idea?”
“I mean, I don’t- I’m just a little… I…”
Darky was struggling to get her thoughts in order after what her friend told her. He sure has done a lot of crazy things in his life before, but never something like this and so out of nowhere.
“Why do you even want to??”
“Because just think about it. Don’t you think it’d be the perfect opportunity to get to know her better? Like, yeah, I’m her student, we have seen each other in my dreams sometimes, but maybe being closer to her in the Waking World, in an environment where we don’t just focus on my problems, emotions and stuff, maybe we could become, you know, friends.”
Darky looked at the window, analyzing the situation.
“I don’t know, Buggy.”
“All we know is that they’re recruiting new guards in the castle. We are not even sure if Solar or Lunar guards. And, even if we knew it-“ she turned her face and looked at him “-you have no idea about how to be a guard or if you would have the requirements for it.”
“I… guess I didn’t really think of that.”
“What was your plan for it then?”
“I don’t know. I just hear of it yesterday and I was thinking of going to the castle and maybe just…”
“… Yeah?”
“…Just ask for the position?”
“Buggy…”
She closed her eyes and put a hoof on her forehead while leaving out a sigh.
“I just don’t want to let this chance go.”
“You’re doing this because of what Zweet Beatz told you, aren’t you?”
“No! Or I mean, maybe a little, but not really.”
“I don’t think this is what she meant when she told you the whole ‘befriend’ thing.”
Buggy looked away, embarrassed of himself and his poorly planning about all of this.
“This is something that can potentially change your entire life in more aspects I think you can realize, Bug. I just don’t want you to take such an important decision without really thinking it through. For example, what if being her royal guard actually makes you become less close to her? Because of the need of being professional and all that shit, changing the dynamic you already have. And that’s only one aspect. And being something so serious, I don’t think you can just casually say ‘this is not for me’ and leave it that easily. You understand what I mean, right?”
“Yeah, and actually, I think you’re right.”
He dropped next to her in the bed, looking to the ceiling.
“This was a terrible idea.”
“I wouldn’t say ‘terrible’, just poorly planned.”
“Whatever, I don’t know why did I even think of that.”
“As I said, I don’t really think it’s a bad idea, Bug. Let’s see-“ she let her body fall on the bed “-What do you know about guarding?”
“Well, I guess I kn-“
“Aside from the fact that they guard.”
“Oh… Well, first of all, stop reading my mind.”
“Hehe”
“And second…”
He thought for a moment.
“They have to be always ready for action.”
“Ok, that’s true, I suppose. Define ‘action’ though.”
“You know, defending the princesses and everypony when danger approaches. Maybe using lances and shields and, being a unicorn myself, using magic.”
“That sounds right actually.”
“The only downside is that my magic is really weak, my offensive magic at least.”
“There should be some kind of training for that, or in any case it’s probably not completely necessary. After all, it’s not like pegasi and earth pony guards shoot laser beams, so it’s not mandatory maybe.”
“Do you think you could perhaps teach me?”
“How to shoot laser beams?”
“Yeah! Yours were always kinda OP.”
“Heh! I guess they kinda are.”
“Don’t you remember that one time when we were little and you accidentally obliterated that one hill with one single laser beam because you sneezed?”
They both shared a laugh.
“Luckily there was nopony nearby. I wouldn’t want to accidentally send somepony to oblivion by just sneezing.”
“Powerful sneeze.”
“Ok, we’re losing the point here.”
“Oh yeah, sorry.”
“I can try to teach you though, if you want.”
“To sneeze??”
“No, you dummy!! To shoot laser beams!”
He giggled before the two broke into laughing again.
“Of course, then.”
“Alright. So, aside from that, what else does a good royal guard need?”
“Hmm… Loyalty.”
“Of course.”
“I suppose I have no trouble with that.”
“I’m more than sure you have no trouble with that,” she answered looking at his moon-necklace.
“Wait, I just realized something.”
“What is it?”
“What even is the different between Solar and Lunar guards? Aren’t they both supposed to protect the princesses after all?”
“I suppose the day shift and night shift and some of their duties, aside from being mostly assistants of Luna or Celestia.”
“You mean like being assistants of both, but mostly of one of them, right?”
“Yes, I guess at least. Aside from that, I don’t think there’s many differences.”
“I heard some of them are bat-ponies, but I don’t know how much of that is true.”
“Oh, you mean like Thestrals?”
“Like what now?”
“Thestrals. Mythological creatures with the body of a horse, bat-like wings like mines and skeletal bodies.”
“I suppose it’s kinda like that then…? But I doubt they have skeletal bodies, if they are even something I mean.”
“Probably they don’t. We would have heard of it before, I suppose, if they exist, of course.”
“True.”
“So, what else?”
“Hmm… I don’t know. I guess that’s all I can think of. Being always ready for action and being loyal to the princesses and to Equestria.”
“Being honest, I have no idea either, so we can work with that at the moment. Going with first thing, how physically skilled you think you are?”
“Wait, what?”
He looked at her with confusion.
“You said guards should always be ready for action and, even if we train hard enough for your lasers to become a good defense and attack, you’ll still need physical combat skills.”
“B- But lances…”
“Still.”
“Oh...”
“I guess neither of us is actually that skilled in that way, huh?”
“Not at all.”
Darky is not bad at all when it comes to fighting with magic, after all, she was the one keeping her friends safe alongside Foggy Bismuth when that changeling invasion happened during the Royal Wedding. As a daemonequus, offensive magic always came natural to her, but she never tried to fight without her magic.
“Maybe I should ask June to teach me some moves. I mean, she knows some stuff about fighting.”
Darky looked away to think for a second.
“A little unrelated, but don’t you think it’s a little ironic that the only friend we know who doesn’t wield magic yet is a skilled fighter is the marefriend of the most pacifist, love-it-all girl we know?”
“Yeah, it’s a little ironic, but to be fair, June and Sunrise are complete opposites in a lot of ways. I think maybe that’s one of the reasons why they’re attracted to each other.”
“I think you’re right.”
They fell into silent for a moment, thinking, until Buggy broke the ice.
“This is stupid.”
“What?”
He brought his hooves to his face.
“This whole thing. Even if we think about how to be a guard, even if I knew EVERYTHING about it, it wouldn’t change that I’m just not prepared for that.”
“…”
“I mean, I didn’t even think about the fact that I could end up being a Solar instead of a Lunar guard, not only not helping to my objective, but maybe even making it harder. And, as you said, that would completely change my entire life. I don’t even know if royal guards have houses or if they live in the castle!!”
“Bug…”
“I didn’t think this through at all. This whole idea is absolutely stupid, no matter from which angle you try to look at it.”
“…I think you may be right, it’s not really a good idea, sorry, but don’t you think you are being a little too hard on yourself?”
“No, I’m just being realistic right now.”
“I know, but I mean, you’re making progress, don’t you think?”
He looked at her again, trying to understand what she was talking about now.
“Bug, a few weeks ago you wouldn’t even have considered that idea. You would have been too scared to even think of it.”
“I… yeah, you’re right… I think.”
“After you became Luna’s student, you have certainly left that fear behind, at least most of the time. Don’t you remember one of your first dream-sessions when you almost gave yourself a nightmare because of how nervous you were of going to sleep? And now, while you are still nervous, you keep it under control.”
He tried to remember all of his dream-sessions with Princess Luna and Darky was right. He felt so scared the first times, but after talking more and more to her, his fear was slowly disappearing. He wanted to be her guard to become closer to her, to get to know her better and to become friends, but he never realized that, through his dreams, that was already happening. Even if he had only had some few sessions, he felt somehow… closer to her.
“Oh gosh, you’re absolutely right. How could I not realize?”
“You see?”
“Not only that, but that I’m also already becoming her friend!”
“Wait, hold on.”
“Through my dreams, I meant.”
“OH, that’s true! I didn’t think of that either!”
“Now I feel dumb, gosh. I was overstressing myself trying to think on a plan for something I’m already doing without even realizing.”
“I do that kind of stuff all the time as well. Let’s face it, toasters are smarter than us both, pal.”
They laughed.
“Thanks for talking some sense into me, Darks. As always, I mean.”
“No need to mention it, Bug. You know I’ll be always here for these things.”
He hugged her and naturally she embraced him back with her wings.
“So, abort Operation ‘Royal Guard’?”
“Yeah, but I still want you to teach me how to laser-sneeze.”
“Fair enough, I will one of these days.”
“Do you have any plans for today, by the way?”
“Not really.”
“Want to go to nearby the Royal Castle then to see if we can see who the new guards are going to be?”
“Sure. We can find a place to eat there too.”
“Oh yeah!”
“Do you think they will make a ceremony or something for the new royal guards?”
“Hay if I know, girl. I think we both made it clear that none of us know a damn about royal guards.”
“Except from the fact some of them are Thestrals?”
“Of course.”
And they kept laughing and talking about random stuff while making their way through Canterlot streets.
