Chapter 1: Random Encounters
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My name is Shield Breaker and I'm part of Celestia's personal guards, there's nothing special about me, just another guard protecting a princess... with a dozen other guards.
This was just another normal boring day guarding a giant door while the princess does her royal duties. I swear the monotony of this job is worst than watching pink pain dry.
I woke up a late that morning, as usual, and groggily made my way to the shower, glad that the rumors of the guards dying their coats matching colors wasn't true. Truth be told, it was just magic in the armor. It would have been a nightmare to keep my entire coat dyed constantly, you know how much dye cost these days. Stepping from the shower I dried off and made my way to the kitchen. Coffee and toast. Again. I sometimes think I don't have anything else... Every morning, coffee and toast, why did I even buy this much toast?! I have no idea where the coffee comes from... it's just there... I'm over thinking this! It's too early for this!
I wish I was a part of Luna's guards instead... Don't get me wrong, Celestia's great but... I have to get up at sunrise and I'm already thirty minutes late... as usual.
I went to the door and opened it to pick up the morning paper. I dragged myself back to the kitchen and picked up some butter and the toast. I stretched my wings and sat down on my chair and took a sip of my coffee.
I opened the paper and read the headlines.
"Celestia's niece, Sunny Skies, is visiting Canterlot."
I quickly ate my toast and put on my armor, I strapped helmet on my back as I galloped towards the castle. I wasn't watching where I was going and bumped into a white pegasus with a pink mane and a sun with two clouds for her Cutie-Mark.
"Sorry." I said and extended my hoof to the mare.
"Owowow." She said and grabbed my hoof. "It's alright... It's just I'm late for a very important meeting. Uhh... Do you know the fastest way to get to the castle? Without flying of course."
A meeting with the princess? She must be important.
"Sure, I was just heading over. Follow me." I said and ran down an old alley way.
The mare followed me without hesitation, even though her coat got slightly dirty. I ran through the downtown market place and climbed up an old ladder.
The mare stopped at the foot of the ladder. "Are you sure this is the fastest way?" She asked as she looked at the old wooden ladder.
I climbed off the ladder and peaked at the mare down below. "Yup, this is the fastest way, but if you want to go the boring way then I'll-" She climbed up faster then I did and looked around the roof.
"If this is the fastest way, I don't want it to stop, this is the most fun I've had in years!" She said. "Where to now?" She asked. I pointed to a row of houses and shops that headed directly to the castle.
"There, you have to jump over the roofs and follow me to the gates." I sprinted ahead and jumped over one of the roofs. Down below were several ponies trying to get past a sky-truck full of overturned turtles. I snickered at one of the unicorn who got so frustrated and yelled "Tortoise!". I looked back and saw the mare following close behind.
She's pretty fast. I slowed down and matched her speed. "Race ya'!" I said and she nodded.
I jumped over a large gap and made a sharp turn to the left and jumped over another gap. I sprinted over a large roof-top garden and jumped over the flowers, I knew the colt that lived here, I REALLY didn't want to get on his bad side.
Whatever move I made, turn I did, jump I leapt, she was always right behind me. I stopped and hid inside the shadows.
I pulled the mare to the shadows and placed my hoof over her mouth. Three Pegasi hovered overhead, searching for something or somepony. The trio left the roof-top and flew down the way we came.
I removed my hoof from her mouth as she spat out some dirt. "That was gross! Why were we hiding?" She asked.
"It may or not be legal to be on roofs unless you're a guard, but I'm not checked in yet so that means I'm currently not a guard." I said and peaked over the edge. "We jump down and glide." I said and opened my wings.
She opened her wings as well. "On three... One... Two... THREE!" We jumped and glided down into a patch of bushes. I was the first one to come out, leaves and twigs were covered in my mane.
The mare came out with a few more twigs and leaves. "I know somewhere we can wash quickly." I said. She waved her hoof and shook her head.
"Nah, I'm really late, I want to get there as fast as I can." She said. I nodded and led her to a large gate that leads into the castle.
"Shield Breaker, you're forty-five minutes late." The guard at the gate said. "That makes a month of being tardy for guard duty." The guard added a number to the "How many days Shield Breaker is late in a row" board.
I rolled my eyes at the old coot. "Speaking of tardy, there was an overturned truck full of turtles at Hovva street. Maybe you should send somepony there to, I don't know, help maybe? A lot of ponies are going to be late for their jobs."
"I'll send a guard to help. Shield, if you are late for one more day I'm afraid I'm gonna-" He stopped mid-sentence and bowed. He grabbed my head and forced me to bow as well. "Your majesty, I'm sorry for that rude display of uncivil behavior."
"What?" I stood up. "Why are you bowing? The only ones here is me, you, and her." I said and pointed to the pink maned Pegasus.
"You idiot! She's the princess' niece, she's Sunny Skies!" He said in a low growl.
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WHAT! Well... screw me sideways and call me an idiot. So much for first impressions.
I bowed back down. "Sorry ma'am for being rude earlier, please forgive my sincerest apologies." I said. I almost gagged at being this formal and asking for forgiveness.
She giggled. "It's alright. I never got your name." She said.
"Shield Breaker, ma'am."
She smiled. "Excuse me, sir but I would like to have a chat with Mr. Breaker and the Princess so I would like to request to leave him in my custody, if you please."
Well... Looks like I'm fired...
"Of course." The old guard said and opened the gate to let us both pass.
I swallowed the lump that was forming in my throat.
We came up the main castle doors. We stepped through it and made our way to the royal throne room.
Some other guards would look at me and whisper with each other.
This is High-School all over again. Being late, getting in trouble, classmates/workmates were gossiping about what I did this time. Yup, just like High-School.
Two guards were already stationed at the doors, I will never get use to their gaze, honestly, and I’m not even sure how I got into the guards.
The two guards opened the large door and the two of us walked in to see the majestic Princess Celestia, writing a letter to, I presume to be her student, Twilight Sparkle.
"Hi! Auntie!" Sunny waved at the large Alicorn.
Princess Celestia sent a green flame from her horn and burned the letter, sending it to her personal student. "Sunny? Where have you been, young lady!?!"
"I got lost." She said. Princess Celestia didn't buy it. "Actually, I was trying to hide from the paparazzi." She said and blushed. "But that's not why I'm here, in the throne room, talking to Princess Celestia not Auntie Celly." She said in a very serious voice.
Here it come...
"I would humbly request..."
It was nice knowing me...
"... that the guard known as Ser Shield Breaker..."
I too young to be banished to the moon, sun, stars or banished in general!
".. too be my personal escort on my stay here in Canterlot."
That's it my life is ove-Wait...What.
Princess Celestia was just as shocked as I was. "Really now? I think I can arrange that." She said.
"Thank you, Princess." She said and bowed as she pulled me out of the room.
After a few corridors I finally got the courage to ask her what and why she did that.
"What...did...you just do?" I asked, still in general shock.
"Got you out of trouble for being late." She said and motioned me into a large bed chamber with light pink and white wallpapers. "And I think I just got you promoted."
"Excuse me for being rude, but I'm still guarding royalty, nothing much has changed." I pointed out.
"Yes, but you're the only one guarding me. That makes you special." She said and motioned me to stand outside the shower. "I'm going to take a bath."
"E-excuse me, ma'am but are you sure this is appropriate? I could guard outside or maybe-"
"Stallion up, you're just standing in front of the door while I take a bath, shesh, stallions these days." She said and walked into the bathroom and locked the door.
What...just...happened....
Brain, work dammit!
So recap... I bumped into a mare, ran illegally on roof-tops, late, turns out the mare is royalty, was about to get fired, she saves my butt, and now I'm standing outside her bathroom as she takes a bath... Most guards can't even go into Princess Celestia's room if it's not an emergency!
"Hey Shield, could you get me towel or something." She said through the door. I found a towel inside one of the drawers and saw myself in the mirror, I was out of uniform.
If my CO sees me like this... I quickly strapped on my helmet and my coat color began to change to the uniform white of the royal guards.
I knocked on the door and held out the towel. She grabbed it and dried off her mane and body.
"Thanks... Guard? Shield can you please take off your helmet, I can't tell any of you apart." She said and poked my helmet.
"Guards aren't allowed to be out of uniform during work hours." I said and gave a unsatisfied look.
"Are you going to disobey me?" She said and smirked.
"No, ma'am." I said and started to sweat a little. "But the rules states that-"
"Who cares about rules, I never follow them." She said. "And stop with all that 'ma'am' stuff, it makes me feel old."
"But ma'am, I mean... Sunny? If my CO sees me out of uniform, she'll kill me!" I pleaded and speaking informally to royalty felt strange.
"I'll handle it. And more importantly, I'm not asking you to take off your helmet, I'm ordering you to take off that helmet and I think I have more authority than your Commanding Officer." She said and I hate to admit it but she is right, so I took off my helmet and reverted back to my own coat and mane color. "See, much better."
"Yes, it is more comfortable..." I said awkwardly.
"Relax, I'm not going to think less of you or the guards if you act informal towards me." She said and walked out the door and I followed her.
"I can be informal," I said as a guard walked passed us. "ma'am..." I said to Sunny as the other guard looked at me with a curious eye.
"Shield, if the CO finds you out of uniform... just, just put on your helmet for Celestia's sake." The other guard said. I honestly couldn't tell my fellow guards apart.
I turned my attention back to the pink maned Pegasus. "But it's just I can't be inside the castle or SHE'S gonna chew me out."
"So what? We leave the castle, show me the sights and stuff." She said and made her way to an open window.
"Are you sure this is allowed?" I asked as she jumped out the window and opened her wings.
"Like I said, I never follow the rules." She giggled and flew off.
"What have I gotten myself into..." I muttered and followed the Princess through the window.