//------------------------------// // Basic Beginnings // Story: The Golden Armor // by Comet Burst //------------------------------// Shining Armor sat at his desk, shuffling through papers he really didn't want to read. All were reports on parts of the Royal Guard, letting him know of places that could use a guard to watch, recruitment drops and things training programs didn't cover. Shining sighed and buried his head into his hooves, mentally tired. He had returned from his honeymoon with Cadence to take on this mess, the reconstruction of the Royal Guard at his suggestion to Celestia. He was horrified to learn the changeling queen Chrysalis had posed as his wife and even convinced him to distrust his own little sister, then beat Celestia in a dual due to Shining Armor's aid. Overall, it was the biggest embarrassment of Shining's career and the breaking point for the Royal Guard. A knock at the door caused Shining to straighten up. He cleared his throat and said in his best authoritative voice, "Come in." The door gently swung open to reveal a stunning pink alicorn with a purple and yellow mane. She smiled sweetly at Shining and he breathed a sigh of relief. Cadance's very image was enough to calm down Shining Armor, even if he was this stressed. He smiled back to her and she trotted over to him. "Having fun, dear?" she asked sweetly with a hint of playfulness. Shining sighed again and looked back at the stacks of papers. "Yeah, loads of it," he said blandly, "This will be the biggest achievement of my career if I pull this off, but only to erase my biggest failure." Cadance gently nuzzled his neck and said, "Don't worry about it. Chrysalis had you all fooled." "But that's the point!" Shining said loudly and startled Cadence, "I was tricked! Celestia was tricked! The whole guard was tricked! We can't let that happen again. We were only lucky the elements and my sister were here to stop her." Cadance put a soft hoof on her husband's back and said, "But we still thwarted her. That means we still won, even if the guard wasn't expecting it." Shining looked down and Cadence gave a small smile, "Plus, we have the best Captain we could ask for." Comet realized he had been holding his breath as he entered in through the gates of Canterlot Castle and let out a deep sigh. Oddly enough, Angel was having the reverse problem as she babbled. "Oh, my, Celestia! This is sooo cool! That's the royal palace, and the gardens, and the moat and the..." she excitedly listed off. Their escort, the guard from the recruitment station, kept silent and wore a hard face as he led the two ponies over to the left, past a set of pegasus guards. The two eyed Angel suspiciously, but let her pass without a word. It was indeed unusual for a bat pony to be out during the day, plus the added suspicion of changelings since the royal wedding, but their spells didn't stop her. Nor did they cause her to salivate uncontrollably; It seemed the castle grounds were doing that just fine. As the three walked to the Royal Guard training grounds, the escort found it increasingly hard to keep a straight face as Angel continued her rambling. Luckily, Comet saved him. "Are you seriously going to name off every single blade of grass?" he grumbled. "Oh, come on, Comet! You don't think this is cool?" Angel whined, her excitement suddenly dampered. Comet rolled his eyes and said "We're not a tour group. We're future Royal Guards, and as such, we need to act like it." Angel stuck out her tongue at the ground and mumbled "Party pooper." Comet pretended not to hear it and kept trotting behind the escort. Angel slightly lagged behind, silent but with large sparkling eyes scanning everything. The trio approached a series of large square buildings and a rather long dirt path that ran into the forest at the edge of the castle grounds. Guard Ponies of all sizes were doing random exercises all around the compound. Pegasus ponies were straining to pull large boulders using just their wings while unicorn guards fired bolts of different colored energy at targets that popped up at irregular intervals. Several pegasi and unicorn ponies of many different colors did push ups as a large pegasus in spectacular guard armor shouted at them. "Hey, why are all those ponies not white or black?" Angel said, pointing a hoof at the ponies doing push ups. Comet clenched his teeth at the rather insensitive question, but the escort answered anyway. "They are recruits like you two. When they earn the armor of the guard, spells bound to it forces the pelt colors to become either white or black." Comet raised an eyebrow, but Angel nodded. Soon the two were standing in the barracks. It amazed Angel who, of course, was promptly rifling through anything that didn't have a lock. Comet stood resolutely still next to the escort in stark contrast. The guard finally let out a smile and removed his helmet. "You know, I did see what happened in the recruitment building." he said with a slight chuckle. Comet felt his stomach drop and the guard watched Angel with a smile. "She's a feisty one, that pony. I'm not shocked in the least you like her." he said and Comet felt a shudder run through his spine. "I'm most definitely not interested in her." Comet replied quickly, giving the guard another reason to chuckle. "You can say that, but you can't deny instinct. She's cute and obviously single, so you better claim her before somepony else does." Comet didn't reply to that, opting for the stoic guard stare. The guard sighed and put his helmet back on and called Angel over. She ran back, excitedly explaining to Comet about the monotonous greenish gray colors, the nearly plywood tough beds and the views from the windows. The guard cleared his throat and said "Alright recruits, this will be your new home for the next four months. Basic Training is not easy, but it will forge you into fine guards if you cooperate. Hopefully, next time I see either of you, I will be saluting you." Angel gave him an impromptu hug and thanked him, causing him to give a grin. She scampered away after yelling "Top bunk is mine, Comet!" and the guard gave him a wink. "Remember what I told ya, soldier. Claim her or lose her." At that, the guard saluted Comet, who returned it, and left the two ponies alone. Comet remained in the exact same spot, unsure of what to think. The guard had evidently known next to nothing about Comet, thinking he had any interest in that screwy bat pony. She had every trait he loathed and then some. She was loud, childish and an expert at annoying Comet. Granted, it wasn't like he wasn't into mares. Spitfire was probably the cutest mare he knew of, but he had also seen pictures of the Elements of Harmony wielders. The purple unicorn was supposed to be Princess Celestia's personal protege and as such she had to be smart, something Comet liked in mares. She also had a pretty purple mane with a pink stripe, a very modern style Comet also liked. All in all, he had thought the purple unicorn was the ideal personality of the mare he wanted while Spitfire had the body. That was when he felt a pair of eyes on him. Swiftly turning his head, he noticed Angel was giving him a smug look and he felt his cheeks flush. "Can I help you?" he asked in his best annoyed voice. Angel scrunched up her nose and stared directly into his eyes with her slit pupils. "What were ya thinkin' of?" she asked a little too innocently. Comet scrunched up his face as well, but his expression was more like there was a foul odor in the room. "It's none of your business." he stated. "I think I know what it was." Angel said in her smug voice. "I highly doubt you do." Comet replied. "I bet I do." Angel said. "I bet you don't," Comet argued. "I bet it was a mare." Angel cooed. Comet felt his eyes retract and his face flush, forcing him to turn away from her. Angel, for her part, squealed in excitement and said "Oh, it is, it is! Who is it? Princess Celestia? Princess Luna? Oh, please, tell me, tell me, tell me!" Comet adamantly refused to answer and Angel kept rattling off names, hoping he would react again. Finally, she said "Oh wait! Is it me?" Comet froze at that and turned around. His face was as red as his eyes, mostly due to Angel saying Spitfire at some point, but he was also annoyed. She had said that earlier that day and even the guard was in agreement. He was NOT interested in Angel. "Stop asking me!" was all he managed to say without shouting at her. He turned tail to her and marched over to the bunk beds he and Angel were supposed to share, leaving her speechless. Angel, of course, completely misinterpreted his words and began to blush herself. "He... does like me?" she whispered to herself. She felt a huge surge of energy from her excitement and ran to tackle him into a hug. She did and rolled with Comet on the floor, eventually stopping on top of him. Comet lay on his stomach and wore a very annoyed face as Angel resumed her signature laughing. These next four months were going to be the most difficult of his life. Several hard fought minutes later, Comet was unpacking his saddlebags and storing a collection of odd items in the footlocker at the base of his bed while Angel peeked down on him from the top bunk. "What's that?" She asked. Comet was holding a book in his teeth and set it gently into the locker. "Combat Techniques of the Marengetti." he stated flatly, knowing Angel wouldn't be interested. It was actually a journal he kept for his mother, who thought it would help him open up more and make some friends. "Boooooring." Angel lamented. "Do you read the Daring Doo series? That's a good book. Action, adventure, danger, ancient relics, romance." She sighed happily, turning over on the bed and staring at the ceiling. Daring Do was so completely cool, thwarting ancient traps and putting amazing relics in museums while dodging a number of enemies. Comet thought the series was for children. Who could rightfully expect to go on some grandiose adventure every week and not require more bits that Celestia and an amazing doctor? Comet preferred to stay grounded to reality through biographies and history books. While Angel was lost in her fantasies of Daring Do, Comet seized the opportunity to place several photographs into the locker. The topmost one was a picture of a wonderfully green mare with sparkling magenta eyes and a tall yellow pegasus smiling at the camera. His parents, Mangrove and Sun Storm, gave him the photo when he left San Prancisco, causing him to choke up. He missed his mother, the wonderful mare, but he had to start his own life. His father had reserves about him joining the guard, but allowed his son to make his own decisions. "Who're those ponies?" came the familiar voice of Angel from behind him. Startled, Comet tried to slam shut the footlocker, but his wing was in the way. He shouted in pain and wrenched his wing loose, tripping over Angel who crouched behind him, and sprawling on his back. His head smacked the legs of the bunk beds on the other side of the barracks, making his forehead lance with pain. He curled up, wincing as his head throbbed and a pony cleared his throat rather loudly. Comet opened his eye to see a stern looking guard glaring down at him. So much for a good first impression.