//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1: The Castle 
// Story: Equestrian Origins: Rise of a Legend 
// by Sin Kurtiz 
//------------------------------//

	The morning horn blared at ear-piercing volumes in the morning. Edge shot up from his bed, his forehead was greeted by the bottom of Talon's bed. Edge gritted his teeth while he turned to get out of bed; but as he got his hooves firmly on the ground, Talon dropped down from above and fell right on top of Edge. The two shouted as they attempted to rise up from the floor. Once the two were upright, they ran out of the wooden door, turned right, and headed down the hall to the assembly room to see the other recruits already stood in line, ready for duty. The recruits all turned to see the duo with their manes in a mess and late. The two merged into line alongside the other recruits with sheepish looks on their faces. The other recruits faced each other and whispered secret discussions between one another, no doubt about Edge and Talon.
The assembly room was bare. Its only source of light came from a glass window that replaced half of the ceiling. A poor source since tree leaves and branches blocked out most the light. The recruits faced a door on the other side of the room. The door to the general's office.
The recruits stood in line for three minutes until the general entered the room. Upon his arrival, the entire squad of recruits stiffened and stood straight in line to face their leader. 
As the general stepped into the light his features became apparent. He was a Crystal Pony with a shiny brown coat with a grey mane. He walked forward slowly towards the recruits. The general paced back and forth in front of the recruits, each step echoing in the barren room. His eyes shifting from one recruit to another. He stepped back as he began to speak.
He spoke in a deep voice, a voice that literally screamed power and struck fear into anypony hearing it. The same voice that yelled at Edge and Talon twice last night. "Good morning, you pathetic excuses for recruits! I assume you all slept well?"
"Yes, sir, General Orthoclose, sir!" the recruits replied in unison.
"Good..." He paced back and forth between both ends of the line of recruits making sure they heard him clearly. "Because you little fillies will need your rest. I don't want any of you falling asleep while we are at the castle. We will be giving you a full tour of the castle that you will protect with your life once you leave training. And because our queen is so very generous, she wishes to see all of you and assign you as personal bodyguards for her and her family if she thinks you are right for the job." He stopped and pointed his hoof at the recruits "So look sharp! I don't want to have to deal with you anymore than I have to and this will be my opportunity to get rid of you!"
The recruits nudged each other as they discussed the news in hushed voices. Talon tapped Edge's shoulder and whispered in his ear, "Maybe we'll become bodyguards for her daughters..." Edge rolled his eyes as he began to turn while General Orthoclose barked orders.
"I want all of you to go get washed up and report back here within twenty minutes! Understood?"
The recruits yelled, "Yes, sir!" as the raised their right hooves to their forehead to salute their leader. 
General Orthoclose yelled, "Dismissed!" as loud as he could. And the recruits headed off to their rooms to prepare.



	

Edge and Talon spoke rapidly in excitement while they trotted towards their room, discussing their plans for meeting the royalty of Equestria. Talon spoke sentences in such rapid succession that Edge began to lose interest as he couldn't understand anything his friend was saying. Eventually, Talon slowed down enough to ask, "What do you hope happens once we're at the castle?"
Edge looked Talon in the eyes. The white pegasus's eyes were filled with anticipation for an answer. Edge tilted his head slightly, confused as he never thought of exactly what he wished to achieve from touring the castle. 
Edge paused as he placed his left hoof to his head. "Uh..." He stood silent for a whole minute contemplating what his biggest focus would be when he arrived at the castle. He closed his eyes to focus his thoughts. He thought of being a bodyguard for the queen and her daughters. He imagined being captain of the Royal Guard. He ran threw a large list of positions , contemplating the ups and downs of each until he decided upon one he desired. "I want to be sent on a mission that can make me a hero to Equestria."
Talon stared at Edge, confused. He then laughed loudly, the sound echoing down the halls as it bounced off the walls. "You can't be serious..."
"I am being serious. Being a hero would be nothing short of being a living legend." He stopped for a moment. "Here's a great way to look at it. Hear any stories about a hero of Equestria?" 
The pegasus stood silent, giving Edge the answer he needed.
"Exactly" he said as he walked towards his room. Talon followed behind like a shadow to Edge.





Edge, Talon, and the other recruits now stood in uniform outside the entrance of the training grounds. They were surrounded by yards of lush green fields; filled with unattended stations for archery, close quarters combat, and endurance. The recruits were hot from the silver armor that covered their entire torso with a silver helmet underneath their hooves. The silver color showed that they were still recruits compared to the Royal Guards' golden armor. 
General Orthoclose stood in front of the recruits; his golden armor had a cyan star embedded into the front. The general shifted his eyes to his left then to his right. He cleared throat loudly, making sure that the recruits were paying attention when he spoke. "Alright you little pests, I see you're all here. So why don't we start our march to the castle? About face!" The recruits all turned to the right facing the path to Canterlot. "Aaaand march!" 
At that word, the recruits and their general began their journey to the castle. They walked through the dirt fields of Canterlot, passed their own homes and families. Many ponies stopped what they were doing to watch the soldiers pass by their homes. Some waved and others stood paralyzed with amazement. Edge scanned all the houses he passed. He remembered delivering jewelry to customers of his parent's shop and walking down the street talking with his friends. He passed houses that seemed all too familiar to him. Something was out of his reach and he couldn't figure out what it was. But then it hit him.
Edge slowly turned to his left, preparing to fight back tears if necessary. He saw a long line of wooden houses, each an equal distance from the other. One house in the short distance stuck out from the others. It wasn't a full house; it was just a stone floor and one room with stone walls. It appeared to have been larger; possibly more walls were wood like the surrounding houses except none would be seen. Edge passed by the lone stone room and looked inside, only to see a blacksmith's forge with a dim fire glowing. Edge sighed quietly and turned his focus back towards walking. But as he passed by the house, he could hear the sound of a hammer slamming on metal coming from behind him.





Edge and his fellow recruits stood sternly facing the newly built Canterlot castle. Edge could only see the top of the castle past the large, wide, grey brick wall before him. The castle was made of a magnificent marble colored stone with a shimmering gold roof. A cylinder tower was at the direct center and had a balcony sticking out.
A Royal Guard stood on the balcony watching over the fields before him. Edge could barely see him since he was so far away. The guard appeared to look towards Edge and the recruits. He stood up on the railing, jumped, and spread his wings, gliding gently out of sight from anypony beyond the gate.
Everypony except for General Orthoclose stood silent staring at the blank brick wall. A loud humming noise was heard and the recruits looked around to find the source of the noise. A bright light suddenly erupted from the wall. When the light died down, Edge stared at the newly made hole in the brick wall. The hole was a clean cut arch inside the center of the wall and on the other side stood a yellow Unicorn wearing a dark purple robe. General Orthoclose approached the unicorn without hesitation. He stood right in her face staring her down angrily; the unicorn returned with a glare. After a few seconds, the two started chuckling quietly between each other.
"I never thought I'd see you again, Electrika! How have the colts been treating you?" Orthoclose said
"Oh, believe me when I say that they've learned to stay away from me unless they want their psyche messed with." said the unicorn
"You were the only mare I have ever trained in the initiation and you've done much better than the new recruits. Say... What rank are you now?"
"I actually was just promoted to Lieutenant Colonel three days ago" Electrika said enthusiastically
"Is that so? Well, if you take my previous offer you could be a Brigadier General..."
"I said no sir, and no disrespect, but I stick by my word"
"Alright then, that was your last chance." Orthoclose turned around and made a sudden character change from unusually cheerful to his regular cruel self. "Okay, you runts! I have a little news for you! We have arrived here a day early so that all of you can see the castle for more than just a few short hours. Consider this a gift from me. You will roam around and help anypony who needs it, no matter what it is they need help with. And tonight you will be bunking with the Royal Guards. Hope you little worms can find a bunk or else you're going to have to sleep on the ground. Now all of you, get in that castle!" He turned and raised his right hoof towards the large wooden door of the castle. The recruits marched in at their own individual paces.
Edge was about to begin walking when suddenly Talon came from behind and slapped a hoof on his friend's shoulder hard. "How's it going, buddy? You excited to meet the princesses?"
Edge took his left hoof and rubbed the spot where Talon hit to soothe the pain. "Of course I'm excited to meet the princesses and also the queen. You forgot to mention the queen... And we aren't here to just meet the princesses, where here to learn the castle and get used to it."
"Well you're no fun are you? I know it's not the main reason we came here, but we only help somepony if they ask. So all we have to do is look for the princesses without running into anypony! It's brilliant!" Talon began to laugh as if he just won a battle against the strongest warrior in all of Equestria. Edge rolled his eyes and walked away.
Talon saw his friend was walking away and hurried to catch up. "So how about it?" Talon began "You want follow my plan?"
"No, I think I'll actually go and check out the armory first then maybe the training grounds. Then maybe I'll join you in your plan if I don't run into anypony."
Talon looked upon Edge with a worried look on his face. “Why are you so serious all of a sudden? Is there something wrong?” he asked his Earth pony friend.
Edge looked away quickly. He didn't even notice that he was acting very seriously until Talon pointed it out. He turned back towards Talon and spoke in a somewhat embarrassed tone, “Sorry, it’s just that this is a serious visit to the castle. We could get an early graduation from the academy and become true Royal Guards by the end of the day. I just want to roam around and do what I’m told to do for once when it counts the most. So you go ahead and find your princess, King McFeatherbottom.”
A smile formed on Talon’s face as the insult his friend had used just last night had turned into a joke between the two. "Alright then, but keep in mind it might be first come, first serve." Talon ran off, laughing as he darted through the large open doors. Edge sighed, Talon was a great friend most of the time and other times he kept his focus some of the most absurd things, like when he wouldn't stop talking about seeing a giant metal spider in a dark cavern in his dream. And maybe being too focused on meeting a princess is another thing he’s focusing on too much. Edge turned his focus towards the castle and ran inside.
The floor was made of alternating black and white tiles across the floor. The walls inside were a solid white with pillars sticking out slightly. Painting hung at even intervals between each other. Each had a different painting. One was of the barren mountains nearby, another of the Crystal Empire to the north, and another of a strange cavern covered with crystals. 
Edge was lost looking into the painting and the only thing that snapped him out was the sound of a door opening nearby. He shifted his head and saw a light grey tail of somepony entering a door and the door slamming shut. The door had a symbol on it: a star inside of a shield; the symbol of the Royal Guards. 
"Bingo" Edge said to himself. He walked over to the door and pressed a hoof up against it. It creaked loudly as it opened slowly. Inside was a staircase leading down to who knows what. Edge walked down the stairs without thinking about what could be down there.
When he reached the bottom, his jaw dropped. He was in a small brick room with shelves and crates scattered around. He gazed at the large amount of weapons hanging on shelves. Axes, swords, and daggers littered the floor near the crates as if they were so packed that those weapons couldn't fit inside. Edge leaned in closer to inspect a dagger.
"May I help you?" a mellow voice said quietly.
Edge forgot that he followed somepony down here. He shot up and faced the source of the voice. It came from a tan-coated male unicorn wearing blue robes dotted with stars and crescent moons. He had a hat similar to the robes  which rose to a fine point with a small star dangling off of it . The rim of the hat had gold colored bells that remained silent. The unicorn stroked his light gray beard which hung from his face and ended about halfway between his head and the ground. "His mane and tail must be hidden by the hat and robe" Edge thought to himself.
The unicorn cleared his throat and asked again, "May I help you, young guard?"
Edge shook his head, replying "no" to the question. "I'm... actually just wandering around the castle and decided to see what was in the armory." He turned his head looking around the room. "I guess this is it. If you don't mind me asking, Why are you here?"
The unicorn smiled as if he was glad at Edge's curiosity. "Well to answer your question. I came here to check on how many weapons that the Royal Guards not lucky enough to be born as unicorns have to use. And-" He turned as his horn began to radiate a dark blue aura. A dagger on the floor was covered with the same colored aura and it floated up off the ground and near the old unicorn. "I must say that I wouldn't use these even if I wasn't a unicorn. I prefer to use magic over strength." He shifted the dagger's position, rotating it to see all the details on it. "Any warriors that use these weapons to slaughter thousands or maybe just hundreds of enemies end up getting a false name for themselves and they all sound the same to me. Ferrum Latet the Shadow, Swift Gale the Bladed Wind, and Murky Shore the Crusher all sound like they gave the name to themselves to say what actions they did when they have no proof." He placed the dagger on the ground. "But, sometimes ponies come up with the most ridiculous of false names. They call me 'StarSwirl the Bearded' merely because I have a beard... They lack creativity..."
Edge stood silent, confused by the unrelated information he had just heard. The unicorn released how quiet the room was and spoke up. "Ah, my apologies! I sometimes get sidetracked in my conversations. I start at one point and drift to another rather quickly and I never notice I'm doing that until after I finish."
Edge snapped out of his confusion. "No, no. It's alright. So you're StarSwirl the Bearded? I heard a lot about you. You made so many spells that unicorns all over are using now."
StarSwirl looked towards Edge with a smile on his face. Edge could see his gold eyes were filled with pride. "Is that so? I didn't know my spells were used by so many unicorns. I-"
StarSwirl froze, being completely still for no visible reason at all. His eyes turned to an empty white color. Edge quickly went up to him and lightly tapped his shoulder. "StarSwirl? StarSwirl, are you okay?"
StarSwirl gasped loudly as he came back to his senses. His eyes returned to normal and he stood hunched over, panting for air as if he was exhausted. He looked at Edge somewhat surprised. "My boy, would you mind doing me this one tiny favor?"
Edge felt a chill slip down his spine as StarSwirl spoke. His voice went from kind to cold in a matter of seconds. Edge wondered what the cryptic favor was. Nervously, he replied, "What is it?"
"I want you to go and relieve the guard at the lookout tower of his job for the night? I just remembered that I was supposed to take over but I suddenly feel very ill. Would you please take my place?"
Edge nodded his head slowly. StarSwirl smiled, appearing somewhat satisfied. "Thank you..." he said quietly.
Edge walked away from StarSwirl and up the stairs. When he was far enough up the stairs not to be seen by the unicorn, he shuddered. Something was strange about StarSwirl, but Edge didn't want to find out what it was. He started walking up the stairs again with his new goal in focus: Take over as sentry on the balcony of the lookout tower. 
As Edge walked out the door and stood back in the main hall of the castle, he looked toward the ground and mumbled under his breath, "Damn rule making me help that crazy unicorn...” He looked back up and saw a staircase reaching up. "Hope this is the way to the lookout tower." Edge thought aloud. He walked to the stairs and began his trek up them.
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