//------------------------------//
// Chapter 18 
// Story: One Soldier's Twilight 
// by Dr.Shisno 
//------------------------------//

"Toby, that's not how it went, trust me, I was there."
 
"Twi, let the kid talk. You're stiffening his imagination."
 
"But he's lying!"
 
"I see it more of it as creative thinking."
 
We discussed quietly in a corner café. We had stopped for a snack before our, well my, audience with the Princess. Spike had drunk too much punch and needed to use the "little dragon's room". Though I desired for something stronger than water to calm my nerves a bit, water was all I got. Twilight was occasionally nibbling at her salad. Something bothered her more than Spike's creative thinking, but I felt that it wasn't the time to discuss it. Another time, I thought.
 
"Ah, that's better," Spike said, announcing his arrival back to the table. "We about ready to see the Princess yet?”
 
"Oh, yes, of course! That nearly slipped my mind," I said. Then, frantically patting down my body, I looked over to Twilight sheepishly, "Hey, Twi, you think you could pick up the bill? It seems that I left my wallet at home."
 
She just rolled her eyes with a smile. "Yes, but only just this time." She placed some bits on the table and then off we went.
 
With Spike on my back and Twi on my right, I sure got a few looks from other ponies. Wondering who I was, where I came from, but they only talked amongst themselves, barely speaking above a whisper. I could only guess what they were talking about. I shook the thoughts out of my head. Stay focused Toby, you've got to keep your eyes focused ahead. Disregard them, you've got an audience with the Princess, you'll be known soon enough.
 
We continued on to the palace, and like the rest of Canterlot, was a sight of amazement. Its white walls were accented with golden roofs. This time I made sure my mouth was closed while I was busy being in awe. Crossing the moat and closing in on the front door, we were approached by two white pegasi.
 
"State your name and business here."
 
"Twilight Sparkle of Ponyville. Here with me are my assistant Spike and a new resident of Ponyville who has an audience with the Princess today."
 
The pegasi did a quick look over of all of us. "The Princess told us to expect your group." One of them said. "Very well, make your way to the throne room." They opened the door and let us pass.
 
Once out of earshot, I let go of the breath I realized I was holding in. "Twi, why didn't you tell them my name? That seems kinda sketchy, don't ya think?"
 
"Toby Miller," Twilight said nonchalantly. "Kind of an odd name for a pony, don't ya think?"
 
"Well, when you put it that way, I guess you're right."
 
"Of course I'm right. That's what the Princess told me to say anyways."
 
"Oh."
 
The walk to the throne room wasn't too far, but it took us past the well decorated halls of the palace. Huge stained glass windows adorned each wall. Statues of great ponies long since past stood in majestic poses. I wanted to questions about each pony, but I knew that was for another visit. I'm here to talk with the princess, not on history lesson.
 
Reaching the massive golden doors that separated us from the throne room, we were greeted again by more winged guards.
 
"The Princess has been expecting you," one of them spoke, motioning to me. "You will enter and wait for the Princess to arrive."
 
"Wait…" Twilight asked, quite puzzled. "He's just going in alone? What about us?"
 
"As per the Princess' orders," the guard answered, putting emphasis on his words, "he will enter alone and have a personal audience with the Princess. She has asked for you two," motioning to Twilight and Spike, "to wait, but she will see you both after she is done."
 
"Hey, Twi, don't worry about it," I reassured her. "I'll be fine. A few minutes alone with the Princess isn't gonna kill me," adding a nuzzle to add weight to my words. "Besides, I've been in far worse situations that this."
 
"Okay." She stepped back with Spike, while the guards opened the doors in front of me. "Just come back in one piece this time, alright?" Spike waved, unsure of what else to add to Twilight's words.
 
"By your word," I nodded to make myself clearer. "Besides, nothing bad is going to happen, I'll be in and out, simple as that." The doors were then shut, echoing in the large room. "Well, I hope."
 

* * *



I was alone, waiting. Waiting for what it seemed like forever. Forever in this huge room. A room adorned with all the "normal" items. Flags, trophies, coats of arms. It was everywhere. A red carpet leading up the throne accented the room.
 
 Where the bloody hell is the Princess? I thought to myself. You'd think if she made this appointment, she would at least be on schedule. A creaking of a door opening behind the throne silenced my thoughts. I straightened up, ready for a talk with the Princess. Unexpectedly, a white pegasus guard walked through the room and towards to me instead. He wore what appeared to be a blue dress uniform with an emblem of a crown on either side of his collar. His jet black mane was slicked back. Clearly, he someone in charge and very important. He circled me, getting a better look at me, as a whole.
 
"I thought I was meeting with the Princess."
 
"All in due time," He answered smugly. "And you address a superior officer as 'sir' and stand at attention when they are addressing you. Understand me, Sergeant?"
 
"Yes and no," I was pissed. No, pissed was an understatement. "I'm not part of your military, nor will I be." Seeing as he already knew my rank as a human, he must already know about me. "I've served my time in hell; I will not serve more time here. I would also like to know who I am being addressed by."
 
"You're being addressed by Lord Swift, Captain of the Guard." He came closer, now face to face with me. "I know who you are, what you've done before you came here. Princess Celestia has kept me 100% informed on you and I must say I'm impressed. I've been watching you, Toby. And you've been enlisted ever since you got here." Gesturing to my cutie mark, he said, "That's the mark of the guard, you've been marked to serve, and you cannot deny service to your Princess."
 
"You've got to be kidding me."
 
"You're lucky," he stated mockingly. He was clearly enjoying this. "Thanks to your prior service, you've been promoted, Lieutenant."
 
 "And if I refuse?"
 
"Well," a sly look crossed his face, "I don't think it would be wise to deny your Princess' personal request."
 
"Where's the Princess," I really wanted to put my hoof in this Lord's face. Forcibly. The frustration I had right then, I'm surprised I kept my cool. "I would like to bring it up with her personally... sir"
 
"That will not be necessary," he began to walk back to the door where which he entered. "She is in audience with Twilight and Spike and has quite a busy schedule in the coming weeks. Months, actually."
 
"You certainly love your job, sir," I spat at him.
 
"Indeed," he opened the door. "Follow me; we have to get you your uniform. We can't have our new Lieutenant out of uniform, can we?"
 
"No," I trotted angrily behind him. "Not at all, sir"
 
Following him deeper into the palace, we entered the guard's barracks. A humble place, surprisingly enough. I would have never guessed it with the stallion walking in front of me. There were relatively few beds, maybe about thirty. There were even fewer guards in the barracks, probably less than ten. A small mixture of unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies. A few gave me a glance or two, but went on about their work.

"Now, you'll be joining a small response team," Swift started. "Usually tasked with small things such as sorting out disputes, disturbances, distress calls. Maybe even a security detail somewhere. A bit more low key than your used to, don't you think, Lieutenant?" I only nodded in response. "Good, affectionately called "Phoenix Team", they are a bit more laid back than the more normal guards we have. But we let them have their way because they don't handle the serious stuff. Eventually, you'll move up and out outta this laid back group when we see where you stand on your loyalties, simple yes?" Again, only a nod.

Lord Swift led me into a side room, where there were only two other ponies. A unicorn, who was in his own world, working on a piece of art. From the looks of things… well, I simply had no idea what he was working on. The other was a pegasus, he was laying on his back throwing a ball into the air and catching it repeatedly. Both were stallions with grayish coats. The painter's mane with white, while ball player was red.
 
"The unicorn is Painter," Lord Swift began. "The pegasus is Player." Both ponies nodded in response to their name. Wow, I thought, lucky guess? "Team, this is your new LT, Philosopher. Your first assignment will be at 0700, tomorrow. There've been reports of disturbances in the Everfree Forest and you'll be sent to investigate. Philosopher," Lord Swift motioned to the unoccupied bed in the corner. A new, blue uniform was on top of it. On either side of its collar was a single gold disc. "You have your men, uniform, and assignment.” And NAME, I thought. “I suggest you get your uniform on before seeing Ms. Sparkle." He began to exit the room with a criminally wicked grin on his face. "Good day, gentlemen."
 
I waited a few moments before I spoke, only slightly worried about whether his Lordship was out of earshot or not. "Ok, would either one of you like to explain how that lowlife of a stallion got his job?" I stomped on the ground, accenting my frustration. "Which princess did he have sex with, tell me that!"
 
"If you really want to know," Player spoke. He stopped for a second, catching his ball, and sitting up, "the honest answer is probably both of 'em."