After Thunderblast's possible near-death experience, as well as a major shift in his destiny to becoming a royal guard, he started his job as a coffee server in the mess hall, but also started his physical training to becoming a guard in three years.
Dear diary,
It's been just a couple of weeks since I first left for Canterlot to start a new adventure as a royal guard. The physical training is really tough, but it is showing some results, to Iron Armor and to my body. Since I started, I noticed some more muscle buildup in my hooves, but it's not much. I'm hoping this will all pay off in the end, and I will get my armor and be able to call myself a royal guard.
Thunder knew three years was a very long time, but he knew if he surpassed Iron's expectations, and quite possibly the drill sergeant's expectations too, he could get accepted as a guard early. However, there was a new problem. There was another recruit, a white, blond haired pegasus stallion named Spear, who wasn't exactly that friendly with Thunderblast.
"Lookie, lookie. It's Thundercrash, writing in his little diary again." Spear chuckled, walking up behind Thunderblast, who was writing in his diary, and trying to ignore him at the same time.
"Ugh. What do you want, Spear?" Thunder asked, turning around and facing him.
"You know exactly what I want." Spear replied.
"Your pen?" Thunderblast said, grabbing a pen and giving it to Spear.
"That too." Spear said, taking the pen, then grabbing Thunder by his face and pulling him backwards onto the floor.
"HEY STOP!" Thunderblast yelled, being pinned down by his enemy.
The sound of a pony whistling filled the room, and a slightly bigger unicorn stallion walked up to them.
"Get off of Thunder." Shining Armor demanded, shoving Spear off of Thunderblast and glaring at him as he ran away. "You alright?" he asked, helping Thunder up.
"I am now. Thanks Shining." Thunderblast replied.
"No problem. If you have any more trouble with him, just tell me and i'll take care of it." Shining said back, smiling at the slightly smaller colt.
At that time, both Thunderblast and Shining Armor were recruits, but Shining was older, so he could go into training before Thunder. They stood up for each other from the day they first met, which was ironically their first day.
"We better go, my uncle wants us at the running track at 1000 hours." Shining said, walking with Thunder out the barracks door.
"1000 hours is 10 O'Clock right?" Thunderblast asked, still confused about the times royal guards use.
"Yep, exactly." Shining replied. "When we have free time, i'll show you all of the times so you can get used to them, alright?"
"Alright." Thunder said back.
"COME ON LET'S GO! MOVE MOVE MOVE! ARE WE GOING TO TROT? OR ARE WE GOING TO GALLOP?" Iron Armor yelled at the other recruits, who were running down the dirt track by the castle.
Thunderblast and Shining Armor jumped back slightly when he yelled, but then remembered it's just his drill sergeant side.
"Ah, sorry if I scared you boys. These new recruits, do NOT KNOW HOW TO GALLOP!" He said, finishing off by yelling at the recruits who began to gallop faster.
"It's fine, Uncle. When do we start?" Shining asked.
"Right now, actually. I want you two to do thirty laps around the track. I will yell for you to stop once you reach thirty, alright?" Iron said.
"Yes sir." Thunderblast and Shining Armor both said, saluting at him, then galloping down the track.
Halfway through their thirty-lap run, they started talking to each other.
"Is it just me, or is your uncle starting to get meaner? No offense of course." Thunderblast said.
"None taken, i've noticed that too. I think it might be because he got yelled at for not being assertive enough to the recruits." Shining Armor replied.
"Oh, I see." Thunder said back, now panting.
"Alright, you two. Thirty laps!" Iron Armor yelled out, and Thunderblast and Shining Armor slowed down, panting and out of energy.
"Holy.....crap....I don't think.....we should have galloped that fast." Thunder said to Shining, collapsing onto the ground, still panting like a dog.
"Me neither..." Shining replied, sitting down and panting like Thunder.
After sitting down for lunch at the mess hall and getting some of their energy back, the two then had to painfully walk back to their barrack, where they had some time before more physical training.
"Ughh." Thunderblast groaned, shutting the door to their barrack behind them, Shining Armor slowly climbing up to his bed above Thunder's.
"You said it." Shining said sighing, faceplanted down into his pillow.
Thunder and Shining layed down on their beds for a short period of time, before a couple other guards came in and layed down on their beds, but only talked, which kept them up.
"Ugh are you kidding me?" Thunderblast said, turning over and putting his pillow over his head to try and block out their talking and laughter.
Before they knew it, it was time for more PT, only this time it was weight lifting, Shining Armor's favorite part of training.
"Aah, I love lifting weights." Shining Armor said to Thunder, putting a 50 lbs weight together, then laying down on a bed and lifting it up and down without much of an issue.
Thunderblast, however, stayed to 25 lbs weights, and lifted those with some issue, probably due to his lack of energy from the thirty lap run him and Shining had to do earlier.
"Aww, is poor Thunderbwast having some twouble?" Spear mocked Thunder, lifting a small weight with one hoof a couple of beds away.
"Look who's talking, you're lifting a five pound weight! My sister Apple Bloom could do better than that!" Thunderblast chuckled.
Spear then got up and leaned on Thunder's weight, giving him trouble lifting it up.
"Try and lift it now." Spear said, holding it just above Thunder's chest.
"Hey....Get off!" Thunderblast said, straining to push up.
"No, you need to learn how to lift weights." Spear laughed.
Suddenly, Thunder, his weight, and Spear were all lifted up, and a dark blue hoof smacked Spear in the face, sending him flying out an open window across the room.
"Woah." Thunderblast said, getting slowly put down by Shining Armor, then putting his weight on the stand.
"I couldn't just let him do that to you." Shining said.
"I know, and thank you for that, but I could have handled him." Thunder said back.
"Whatever." Shining chuckled. "Let's head back, our training is done for today."
"Okay." Thunder said, getting up and walking with Shining Armor back to their barrack.
The same routine followed for the next few days, as well as Spear's attempts to get to Thunderblast, all foiled by him and Shining Armor, and one day a couple of other guards.
After five more months, they progressed from physical training, to weapons training and even some medical training if a guard is injured without a medic nearby.
By now, Shining Armor is just one more month away from receiving his own armor, yet Thunderblast was still just over two years from receiving his.
"Hey Thunder." Shining said, sighing afterwards and shutting the door behind him.
"Hey Shining, what seems to be the problem?" Thunder asked.
"Oh, it's nothing really." Shining said back, cracking a small smile but quickly dropping it.
Thunder raised an eyebrow. "Something is wrong, isn't it?" he asked.
Shining looked at Thunder and sighed again. "Yes. There is something wrong."
"You're free to tell me if you're comfortable with it." Thunderblast said, scooching over and patting a spot next to him on his bed.
Shining came over and sat down next to Thunder. "It's my uncle. He's getting older and he refuses to retire anytime soon, what if something happens to him?"
"I don't know. But he's a strong stallion, I don't think anything will happen to him anytime soon." Thunder said back.
"I know, but i'm also worried about what will happen after he does retire." Shining said.
"And that is?" Thunder asked.
"He told me, he knows for sure, that he's going to make me Captain of the Royal Guard when he has to retire." Shining sighed.
"That's good, isn't it?" Thunderblast said.
"No. It's not. I'm not a leader at all." Shining said back.
"Yes you are. You're more of a leader than I am." Thunder replied, patting his back.
"No, Thunder. It's the other way around. You're more of a leader than me." He said, looking at Thunder.
"Are you kidding? I'd be the worst leader the royal guard has ever known. You, on the other hoof, would be a great one like your uncle." Thunder said back.
Shining Armor smiled slightly. "Thanks buddy."
After talking for a couple more minutes, Shining climbed up to his bed and they tucked themselves in, much earlier than the normal lights out time. Little did Thunder know, he had just two days before the next step of his training kicked in.