July 16, 2007
Blue woke up at about 3-4 AM to prepare himself for a long day at work. Ever since joining the Guard nearly a year ago, Blue had only managed to get promoted to conscript. Even though it was still dawn, it did look as though it was going to be a nice day, but Blue and the other guards had a problem on their hooves. A big problem. Tourist season was beginning for Canterlot and ponies, Griffins, Zebras, you name it were coming from far away to see Canterlot, which meant Royal Guards had the difficult task of keeping ponies safe. Although Blue wasn't a Canterlot native and didn't know much about the place, he still promised himself he'd keep everypony safe and out of any hassle.
The Pegasus stepped outside into the cool air and sighed. He turned to look east and noticed the sun rising behind Mt. Solar. He knew that this moment of tranquility would not last very long as tourists would start arriving very soon from places all over the world. Blue sometimes wondered why Cloudsdale never got the same amount of attention as Canterlot. There was just as much to see and do in Cloudsdale, maybe even more. Was it only because the Princesses lived in Canterlot? Blue sure thought so, but his thinking was interrupted by a tap on his shoulders. It was Thunderblast.
"Hey, buddy. What ya doing?" Thunderblast asked.
"Not much. I'm just thinking..." Blue replied.
"Thinking about anything in particular?" he asked.
"Not really..." Blue replied. "Today's gonna be a rough day at work..."
"I know." Thunderblast said. "And there's gonna be tons of tourists here til October."
"Yeah." Blue replied. "Let's just do the best we can."
"I guess." Thunderblast said. "Why are you up so early anyways? The trumpet hasn't played yet..."
"I don't know. I just want to be the best guard I can." Blue replied. "This is a lot harder than you said it'd be, Thunderblast..."
"Maybe you're not trying hard enough, Blue." Thunderblast reassured him. "It's trying your best that's gonna get you far here."
"Yeah... I still feel like I don't really fit here, even though I've been here only ten months." Blue explained.
"Hey." Thunderblast begun, putting his hoof on Blue's shoulder. "You do fit in here, Blue. I know it's different than what you done back home, but from what I've seen so far from you, you're one of the best guards on the team."
"Thanks, Thunder." Blue replied and smiled at him. "I'm glad you think that, but if I really were that good, then why have I only gotten promoted to conscript since joining here?"
"I don't know... Promotions don't come as fast as you'd expect them to. Just try your best to impress the captain and it'll be alright." Thunderblast said, giving him a reassuring wink.
"Yeah, I guess." Blue said, still feeling unsure about his guard duty.
"Hungry?" Thunderblast asked, pointing to the mess hall.
"Kinda." Blue replied and put his hoof on his stomach, which growled slightly, indicating a 'yes'. Thunderblast chuckled and led him into the mess hall, where there wasn't many ponies gathered. The two friends sat down at a vacant table and begun to eat some cereal. Thunderblast looked at Blue, who seemed awfully nervous.
"Dude, you alright?" Thunderblast asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just freaking stressed!" Blue responded, agitated.
"Blue, chill." Thunder replied. "Chill."
"Alright..." Blue replied. "I'm just nervous. There'll be a lot more ponies to look out for today and for the next few months..."
"Dude, relax." Thunder reassured him. "It'll be alright. Just try and look out for them as best as you possibly can, okay? Oh, and by the way, it won't be just you who's patrolling, don't worry. I'm expecting Iron Armor to send out most of us to patrol."
"Alright." Blue replied, still feeling nervous.
6 AM
It was six AM and most of the guards were ready for patrolling the city and looking out for it's inhabitants and the wide varieties of tourists coming to visit the city. Iron Armor was about to give them a quick brief before sending them off, but not before Thunderblast and Blue joined in.
"Whew... finally, we made it." Blue replied, a bit puffed out. He had just ran from the mess hall to where the briefing was held, alongside Thunderblast.
"Perfect timing too..." Thunderblast replied, also tired from all the running.
"Alright, you all..." Iron Armor said, walking down and inspecting the Royal Guards. "This will be a very busy tourist season, from what we can tell, which means you will have to be extra watchful for everypony. Alright?" The Royal Guards present (including Thunderblast, Spear and Blue) shouted 'Yes sir'. Iron Armor simply chuckled to himself.
"You better not ruin this for me..." Spear whispered to Blue, who was standing beside him.
"Dude, we're all gonna patrol the city, not just you." Blue replied. "So shut your trap."
"You try make me..." Spear replied with a threatening tone in his voice. Blue awkwardly grinned at him and turned back to face Iron Armor, while Spear turned away from Blue and Iron Armor.
"Everypony---Spear, that means you as well." Iron Armor said, looking at Spear who was still facing the back. "Spear, fifty push-ups. Your attention span is worse than I thought it was." Spear then turned his attention back to Iron Armor and sighed.
"Sorry sir." Spear replied and glared at Blue, who simply shrugged. He then begun to do his push-ups, while the remaining ponies, including Blue and Thunderblast, chuckled to themselves.
"Anyways, everypony. All of you will go out to patrol given areas of the city. Shining Armor and Thunderblast, you both will patrol the castle and the gardens." Iron Armor explained.
"Sir, yes sir!" both stallions replied.
"Spear, you're patrolling downtown..." Iron Armor said. "Along with Blue Skye, Flash Sentry and Diamond Sword."
"WHAT?! Oh, hay no. I'm not patrolling with him! I'd be happy if it was only me, Flash and Diamond Sword, but Blue Skye? Not a chance." Spear complained, before being reprimanded by Iron Armor again.
"Do you want fifty more push-ups?" Iron Armor asked. "This isn't the discipline I expect from a Royal Guard, Spear. "
"No, sir." Spear replied. "I'll patrol with him." he said, before turning to face Blue and glaring at him again.
"I sure hope that you two will not quarrel." Iron said and looked at both guards, who simply smiled and chuckled awkwardly. Blue thought to himself. How hard can working with Spear be? he asked himself.
"We won't. Don't worry." Blue replied awkwardly and looked at Spear.
"Yep. We'll be alright." Spear replied.
"I sure hope so." Iron Armor replied and walked off to inspect the other guards.
"We won't be alright..." Spear said, with a threatening tone. Blue chuckled to himself, before being hoof-slapped by Spear.
"Seriously, dude. Don't you have anything better to do than pick on me?" Blue asked, now ticked off.
"I don't like you, Blue. I never did and never will." Spear simply replied and grinned at him.
"That's no reason to bully me." Blue responded.
"You're not Guard material, Blue Skye. Go back to being a Weather Pony or whatever you were before joining the guard." Spear said, smirking.
"Right... from what I can tell, you're not Guard material, Spear." Blue replied, with a smirk of his own.
"Says the guy who's never held a sword in his life." Spear said, grinning obnoxiously at Blue.
"Like you've ever held a sword, Spear..." Blue replied.
"Right boys! Off you go. Remember where you're patrolling, alright? There's gonna be far more ponies in the city than you can imagine." Iron Armor explained.
"Yes sir!" the Guard ponies replied and each of them left the outpost to patrol a different area of Canterlot. Spear's group left towards downtown, where ponies were preparing to go to work, with several carriages already filling the street.
"Man, I hate this place... It's so overcrowded and dull." Flash complained.
"It's just the way cities are, Flash." Blue replied. "I actually like living in the city."
"Ask for a transfer, Flash to Ponyville or Appleloosa or another small town." Spear suggested. "Or are you too scared to?"
"Nah. I'm fine." Flash Sentry replied. "Let's patrol, alright?"
"Yeah, we're wasting time." Diamond Sword said. "Let's just go patrol. Spear, you and Blue are patrolling Canterlot Main Street, while me and Flash will patrol Eclipse Avenue."
"Hey! Who said you're in charge?" Spear shouted.
"Nopony, but I'm just suggesting." Diamond Sword replied.
"Hey, guys. Shut up!" Blue shouted. "If we continue talking like this we're not gonna have anything done."
"Good point." Flash Sentry replied. "Let's just patrol."
"Yeah." Diamond Sword said. "We're patrolling where I said we are, no questions Spear." he explained and glared at Spear, who cringed.
"Right guys. Let's split up." Blue said.
"See you later." Diamond Sword replied and went with Flash Sentry to patrol Eclipse Avenue, which was a block away, leaving Blue and Spear alone on Main Street. The two Pegasi stood there near each other, paying attention to the ponies passing by. Even though Blue disliked Spear very much (and vice-versa), he still wanted to start again with Spear, maybe even manage to make friends with him, so he decided to start a conversation with him.
"So, how long are we gonna patrol here?" Blue asked.
"Are you stupid? Until lunch break! Then we get to change over." Spear explained, with an agitated tone in his voice.
"Alright, jeez..." Blue replied. "Chill, man."
"How the hay can I chill when you're yammering on?!" Spear shouted.
"Dude, if you don't shut up, we're gonna 1. attract unwanted attention and 2. we're gonna waste EVEN MORE time. So shut your trap, Spear." Blue replied, with an angry tone in his voice.
"Sure thing... I'll shut my trap, right after I shut yours." Spear said and hoofed Blue in the chin.
"Ugh... If we weren't in a public place, I'd literally beat you down." Blue threatened.
So far, my conversation with Spear isn't going too well... Blue thought to himself.
"You won't do that...'cause you can't." Spear replied, grinning. "I'd take you down faster than a timberwolf and an apple tree." he said, putting on a country accent that ponies who lived in the southern parts of Equestria spoke in.
"Where did you learn that country accent?" Blue asked.
"I was born in Canterlot, but I used to live in Dodge Junction as a kid and I moved up north back here. I guess it pays off to live in Dodge Junction." Spear explained. "Ever been there?" he asked.
"Once or twice, I think. I was there to visit mah Uncle Crested Cloud." Blue explained, trying to put on a country pony accent. Spear chuckled to himself.
"That was quite good." Spear praised him.
"Your's isn't too bad either, I have to admit." Blue complimented him.
I actually thought it'd go far worse than that... Blue thought to himself.
"Are we gonna talk about accents or are we going to continue patrolling?!" Spear shouted.
"Patrolling..." replied Blue. "No need to shout."
Over the next few hours, the two Royal Guards continued patrolling the Main Street of Canterlot, looking out for any suspicious ponies and for the locals and visiting tourists, while also enjoying one another's company. After lunch break, the two stallions got moved to a different part of the city, this time, a bit closer to the Castle. The two guards stood against some brick buildings and were quite tired, but by now, they were used to waking up early in the morning. It was quite hot outside and that added to their tiredness. However, despite being tired, the two stallions kept their eyes on some suspicious-looking ponies who had sacks on their shoulders and seemed to be circling the Canterlot Bank.
"Hey, Spear. You see these four loons?" Blue asked, pointing over to them.
"What about them? Should I go get their attention or something?" Spear asked.
"Yep." Blue replied.
"Why don't you do it?" asked Spear.
"Because... I can't. I'm gonna patrol and you're gonna get their attention." Blue replied.
"No, I'm gonna---" Spear shouted.
"Nope." Blue simply replied. "You go get their attention..."
"Alright..." Spear said and went over to them. As Spear walked across the street, the ponies with sacks trotted towards a large hole in the wall of the Bank and jumped in. Just then, Blue realized that those ponies were burglars and he trotted towards them. He also noticed that one of the stallions seemed to be approaching tourists and other ponies.
"Hey, Spear. You go after that guy..." Blue said and pointed over to the burglar who was approaching civilian ponies. "...while I go inside and try and stop these guys, alright?"
"Yeah, sure... Will you be alright here, Blue?" Spear asked, with a mocking tone in his voice. "Or do I have to call momma?"
"I sure hope so, and don't you dare..." Blue replied. "I can always call for more guard units to arrive. Good luck!" he said and jumped through the hole in the wall, while Spear went after the third burglar. Blue went through the bank, carrying a flashlight in his mouth. At long last he made his way into the vault where about fifty thousand bits were kept. The vault door was open, meaning somepony must have gotten in. Blue jumped into the vault and hid behind the door, trying not to get noticed by the burglars.
"This is a lot more than I expected it to be..." the first burglar said, stuffing some bits into his bag.
"Yep, but who cares? It's ours now anyways!" the second burglar shouted with joy.
"Quiet! Somepony might hear you!" the third burglar replied, also putting bits into his bag.
You bet somepony heard you... Blue said to himself and jumped out from behind the door.
"THIS IS THE Royal Guard! FREEZE! ALL OF YOU!" Blue yelled, pulling out a sword and aiming it at them. The burglars dropped their bags of cash onto the floor out of shock, spilling money everywhere. "You're all under arrest for attempted robbery of the Canterlot Bank! Hooves in the air, weapons down. Empty your bags of cash as well, now!" Blue yelled.
"We don't have any cash!" the burglar replied. "We're just here to check on the safe, that's all!"
"That's not what I heard you say before." Blue replied, grinning and still sticking out his sword. "Drop all your weapons... and empty those bags before I give you some jail time."
"If you really were a Royal Guard, then you'd be wearing armor and have a more intimidating look than you do." the lead burglar said, smirking. "Take him down, boys!" Blue's heart literally stopped. The burglars trotted towards Blue and diamond-dogpiled him. He struggled to breathe under the sheer weight the stallions were putting on him and tried to push them all off him, while the lead burglar grabbed all the bags and trotted out of the vault. Blue managed to turn his head to see the burglar leave, and was still pinned down by the burglars.
"GET... OFF... ME!" Blue shouted, trying to push them off, but they were too much of a force to hold down. Eventually, he managed to roll over, bringing the dogpile down and getting out of the vault, knowing he won't be able to take care of the burglars alone. Blue then closed the door to the vault and looked around him to see if there's anything there that can keep the door from opening. However, Blue didn't have the time and flew up to the safe lock and tried his hardest to lock the door. AGGGHHH... Blue groaned as he tried to lock the door. It took several failed attempts to lock the door, but in the end, he managed to do it. Blue then flew back to the outpost. A minute or so later, Blue landed at the outpost, where the remaining guards, including Iron Armor, were playing a game of poker. Blue suddenly burst into the outpost, puffed out.
"Blue Skye?" Iron Armor asked. "Aren't you meant to be patrolling?"
"What's the matter?" asked a veteran guard. "Sissy?"
"Guys! The... there's a robbery taking place at the bank... and I can't handle them alone. There's about four of them."
"Only four?" the same veteran guard asked.
"Well, there is four but there was only three present at the bank robbery, and the fourth guy is roaming the city somewhere..." Blue explained. "I need your help."
"Blue Skye, are you seriously saying that you can't take down four--three stallions by yourself?" Iron Armor asked.
"No sir." Blue replied, putting his head down. "I don't know if I can."
"Bluey Skye is gonna cry!" mocked the veteran stallion. His buddy, who was sitting beside him chuckled lightly.
"Shut your trap." Blue said. "Or I'll beat you up." The two other guards laughed, while Iron Armor sighed.
"You're kidding, right?" Iron asked. "You've been here for almost a year and you're one of our top stallions already, but you're saying that you can't stop three burglars on your own?"
"No, sir. I can't." Blue replied. Iron simply chuckled.
"Well, maybe I was wrong about you after all." Iron begun.
"What do you mean, sir?" Blue asked.
"Well, when you first joined here, I expected a disciplined, an ever-ready and a brave stallion and you seemed to be like that, but I don't know what's gotten into you just now." Iron said. "Maybe you're not what I expected you to be, Blue Skye."
"I'm sorry sir..." Blue replied. "I'm just, not cut out for being a Guard."
"You are, Blue Skye. You just need to stop doubting yourself." Iron explained. "That's what's holding you back from your dreams of being a successful Royal Guard. Now, I'd suggest you stop moping around, fly over to that bank and kick those burglars' flanks, because I know you can."
"Yes sir... I'll try my best." Blue said. "I'll try..."
Meanwhile...
Spear continued following the fourth burglar through the streets of Canterlot, bumping into several pedestrians in the process. Spear already followed the burglar across seven blocks and was already beginning to get irritated with him. Just then, the stallion stopped and turned towards an alleyway. Spear followed him into the alleyway, hiding between two bins to try to not get noticed by the burglar. The burglar stopped behind several full trash bags scattered across the alleyway and a fifth one, a unicorn, came out the back door of an apartment building. Spear eyed the two burglars from behind the bin.
"Where are the other three?" the fifth stallion asked. The fifth stallion looked and acted differently from the previous burglars, but Spear had no idea whether to trust him or not. From what Spear could tell, he seemed to be a leader to the burglars.
"They were at the bank..." the burglar explained. "They should be here with 150,000 bits any minute now."
"150,000?" Spear asked himself, bewildered. "I hope Blue knows what he's doing..."
"I want the bits now... no questions asked." the leader of the burglars explained. "I want you back here in ten minutes."
"Alright then..." the burglar responded and made his way towards the main road. Spear backed into the wall and accidentally kicked a plastic box into the middle of the alleyway. Spear gulped in fear...
"What was that?" the leader stallion asked.
"What was what?" the burglar replied.
"I heard something... Go check it out, why don't you?" the leader said. "The bits can wait..."
"Sure thing, boss." the burglar replied and walked towards the source of the noice.
I'm in deep trouble now... Spear thought to himself. The burglar then arrived where Spear was hiding and bent down to pick up the box, to maybe see if there was a rat or something underneath it.
"Nothing there, boss..." the burglar explained and turned his head to notice Spear hiding between the bins. "Well well well..."
Spear was done for...
"Uh... hi." Spear replied and waved his hoof awkwardly.
"Get outta there." the burglar replied, pulling out a sword and aiming it at Spear. Spear didn't hesitate to move out from between the bins. The leader noticed the burglar leading Spear over to him and chuckled darkly.
"Hooves up into the air. Now." the burglar replied and pointed his sword closer to Spear's body. Spear gulped and trotted towards the leader of the burglars.
"Well, lookie what we have here... A Royal Guard." the leader said and hoof-slapped him in the face.
"What do you want from me?" Spear asked, terrified about what's going on around him.
"We want you to lead us to our destiny..." the burglar replied. "150,000 bits are waiting for us in the Canterlot Bank... only for us."
"I am not taking you to the Canterlot Bank so you can rob it." Spear replied. "In fact, you're both under arrest for assaulting and keeping a Royal Guard hostage." he said and stuck out his sword to intimidate them, however the sword was dragged out of Spear's hooves and snapped in half by the leader's unicorn magic, along with any other equipment he had with him. Spear was literally shaking like a baby's rattle, much to the amusement of the two burglars.
"WOAH." Spear yelled.
"Take us to the 150,000 bits..." the leader said. "Now."
Spear simply nodded and led the two burglars out of the alleyway and into the busy city streets, towards Canterlot Bank.
Back at the Canterlot Bank...
Blue landed in an alleyway beside Canterlot Bank. The vault where he locked the burglars was accessible through the hole in the wall, which looked to be quite recently created and was covered in black ash. Blue stepped through the hole in the wall and made his way through the building towards the vault. After searching the building, he found the vault and tried to pull open the lock, but it didn't budge.
"UHHHGGHHH!" Blue groaned as he pulled against the lock. Eventually, it gave way and fell out of the door, which swung open, narrowly missing Blue's face.
"Woah..." Blue replied, recovering from the sudden shock he had. He then stepped into the vault and looked around. There was nopony there, or so it seemed...
"Hello?" asked Blue. Nopony replied. "Uh, hello?" he asked again, not receiving any reply. "I'm pretty darn sure it was this vault---" he said to himself, before being pounced on by one of the burglars.
"WOAH!" Blue yelled as he was pushed to the ground and endured several punches to the face by the burglar.
"THE BITS ARE OURS!" he yelled.
"WHO SAYS THEY WERE MINE?" Blue asked. "You're all under arrest!" he said, punching the burglar off him and taking out his hoof-cuffs. The second burglar also tossed himself at Blue and begun to punch him relentlessly, causing Blue to drop his hoofcuffs. Blue punched the burglar in the face, knocking him out. The second burglar charged at him from the side and knocked him into the wall of the vault, but Blue was quick to react and grabbed the second burglar by his hoof and throwing him onto the floor. The second burglar was too tired to move up, so when he saw that the hoof-cuffs were lying directly in front of him, he stretched towards it, but Blue's hoof caught the hoof-cuffs first. He picked the hoof-cuffs up and put them around the burglar's hooves.
"You'll wait here until the authorities arrive, alright?" Blue asked. The burglar didn't reply to his question and struggled with the hoof-cuffs Blue put around his hooves.
"Forget it. You're not getting them off that easily." Blue explained and smirked. The first burglar begun to open his eyes and got up to face Blue.
"Oh, no... not you again." Blue said.
"We will get those 150,000 bits." the stallion replied. "And no puny "Royal" Guard will stop us."
Just then...
"What the hay?" shouted a voice. "What are you all doing in this vault?!" It was one of the bank tellers who worked in the Canterlot bar. Apparently, he heard the commotion that was going on in the vault and decided to investigate what was going on.
"Mr. banker! I can explain..." Blue replied.
"You better!" the bank teller shouted.
"I am a Royal Guard... and I tracked these goons here into this vault. They wanted 150,000 bits from your vault." Blue explained.
"But if we don't give the 150,000 bits to our leader... he's gonna get angry, and I mean, really angry." the burglar said.
"Sure, sure." Blue replied and put another pair of hoof-cuffs around the burglar's hooves.
"I'll call my fellow Royal Guards to escort them to the prison... there's two more of these guys left and they're loose somewhere in the city." Blue explained.
"I cannot thank you enough for catching those criminals..." the bank teller replied. "I'll explain exactly what happened here to the boss."
"It's my duty as a Royal Guard to keep other ponies safe. Now, if you excuse me, I still have two more of these guys to catch." Blue replied and flew outside.
Meanwhile...
"There's the bank, but I'm afraid it's closed today." Spear explained, while pointing to the bank building.
"That's a lie... it's Monday and that bank is always open on Monday..." the burglar said.
"Come on! Lead us in... NOW." the leader shouted.
"I JUST TOLD YOU. IT'S NOT OPEN ON MONDAYS..." Spear lied.
"DON'T SHOUT AT OUR LEADER, IDIOT." shouted the burglar, who whacked Spear on the head repeatedly.
"It's alright. He just doesn't know us..." replied the leader. "Now, lead us into the vault. NOW."
"Fine!" Spear replied. "Although, I shouldn't be doing this..."
Blue was watching from above what the two ponies were doing to Spear and although Blue had a strong dislike for Spear, he had to help him somehow. He turned around and looked to see two patrolling Royal Guards approaching the bank and then turned back to face Spear. Blue then nosedived towards the ponies holding Spear and knocked the burglar off his feet.
"WOAH!" the burglar yelled as he was sent through the air. The leader looked up in the sky and noticed Blue Skye beginning to land in front of him. Blue had his hooves folded and was hovering several feet above the ground.
"Leave Spear alone..." Blue said. Spear's ears perked up at the mention of his name and backed against the wall. He turned to look at Blue and gave him an awkward, but friendly smile, which Blue returned.
"What do you care?" asked the leader of the burglars.
"Because Spear didn't do anything to deserve you treating him like that..." Blue replied, still hovering overhead.
"I don't have time for this... I need my money and nopony's gonna stop me." the leader said.
"You mean 150,000 bits? Not a chance." Blue replied and flew towards the hole in the wall, blocking it with his body. The leader smirked and trotted towards him, before firing a beam of magic at him.
"WOAH!" yelled Blue as he looked at the rapidly approaching beam of bright light. The magic spell hit the wall of the building, blowing it into the bank, along with Blue. Blue got up out of the rubble and dusted himself off.
"So that's how you wanna play, huh?" Blue asked. He smirked and flew at his highest speed towards the leader, who didn't notice and hit him, knocking him down. The leader smirked and got up, and kicked him in the shin, while Blue punched him in the face repeatedly for several times. Blue eventually punched the leader hard enough and knocked him down. Little did the two ponies know, they were drawing a crowd at the main road, which seemed to be growing larger every time a punch was exchanged between the two.
The leader then bucked Blue into a wall and got up, and charged towards him.
"Oh, no..." Blue said and jumped out of the way, just moments before the leader hit the wall and went right through it. Blue chuckled to himself before the unicorn turned to face him and his horn lit up. Blue flew over to the unicorn and decided to settle things like a stallion.
"Listen here... You and your buddy here are under arrest..." Blue said and hoofed his horn. "For attacking a Royal Guard, keeping my friend here, and trying to steal 150,000 bits from the Canterlot Bank."
"What are you gonna do?" asked the leader.
"Hoof-cuff you... and arrest you and your friend..." Blue said and pulled out his final pair of hoof-cuffs. "If you move, I punch you."
"Sure thing..." the leader replied, with a voice mocking Blue, but was punched in the face.
"I find that rude." Blue simply said and put the hoof-cuffs around the leader's hooves, but not before he sent out a large beam of magic, blasting Blue into the wall at high speeds, effectively knocking him out. The leader chuckled to himself as he watched Blue pass out, but his laughter turned to fear as he watched two guards approaching him.
"You're coming with us..." said the first guard.
"Come on, let's go." said the second one, who dragged him down the alleyway.
"Ugh... fine. I will be back, Canterlot! Just you wait!" the leader shouted. "You haven't seen the last of Goldbar! I can assure you!"
At the hospital...
Blue woke up at the Royal Canterlot Hospital, with a bandage wrapped around his left and right hooves and temporary amnesia. What happened to him? What had he done to end up here? These questions all raced through Blue's head as he tried to process the situation. About half an hour later, his memory returned to him. Blue then remembered it was the fight which he was involved in with "Goldbar" was why he got sent here. He felt unpleasant lying in the hospital bed, but he knew that he'd be here for a little while. Just then, there was a knock at the door.
"Come in..." Blue shouted. The door swinged open and a nurse walked into the room, along with five other ponies. They were Iron Armor, Thunderblast, Spear, Shining Armor and... the Princess. Blue's jaw dropped when he saw Celestia in his room.
"Well, I underestimated you." said Iron Armor. "You're a better guardspony than I thought you were."
"Uh, thank you sir." Blue replied.
"That was some incredible bravery I've witnessed from you, Blue Skye. You definitely do fit in the guard, and this is proof!" Thunderblast said.
"Thanks, Thunder..." Blue replied. "But I still don't know."
"Hey, Blue." asked Spear.
"Yeah?" asked Blue.
"Thank you for risking your own life for me today..." Spear begun. "And I'm sorry for being such a jerk towards you. I just didn't want you to take my place in the guard, because before you came I was the best pony there, other than Shining Armor and Thunderblast. Will you ever forgive me?"
"It's okay, Spear..." Blue replied. "And, yeah. Of course I will. Maybe we could be friends..." he suggested.
"You'd want to be my friend after what I done to you?" Spear asked.
"Yep. I mean, we can always start again, can't we?" Blue asked.
"Yep. We could." Spear replied and smiled. "How did you rest?"
"I rested pretty well, Spear." Blue replied.
"That's good, Blue." Spear replied. "I gotta go patrol now... You'll be alright?"
"Eeyup." Blue replied, in a country accent.
"Keep working on that country accent. You're getting better at it. See ya later, buddy." Spear said and went out of the ward, and Thunderblast joined him moments later.
"Bye Spear." Blue said and turned to face the remaining ponies gathered.
"I have heard of what happened in the bank and with Spear... and I have to say, I'm impressed Private Blue Skye." Iron Armor said. "You're doing a far better job at this than I thought you would. And I'm sorry for doubting you today. You proved yourself to not only us, but to all of Equestria as well. I'm proud of you, Blue."
"Thank you sir." Blue replied.
"And I believe, the Princess would like to say something to you." Iron Armor said. "I'll leave you two here." he said and went outside the ward.
"Hello, Blue Skye." the Princess begun.
"Your majesty." Blue replied curtly.
"Please, 'Princess' is fine. I just wanted to say how proud and how honored I am to call you one of my guards. Your determination to help a friend and to help the ponies of Canterlot, especially during one of the busiest times of the year, is something I have never seen before... You are now a private, Blue. You are now a Royal Guard."
"Thank you... Princess." Blue stuttered and smiled at her. "I'm just doing my duty as a Guard."
"And you're doing a great duty, Blue." Celestia said. "Thank you for helping keeping the city safe. Once you're all healed, come to the armory in the castle and you'll get your armor there. Alright?" she asked.
"Yes..." Blue replied, with a grin on his face.
"Thanks again, Blue. Now, you should get some rest. I'm not going to disturb you." Celestia said and walked out of the ward.
"Princess, you're not disturbing me or anything, no, no." Blue replied and chuckled awkwardly.
"Well, still... I want you to get some rest, alright?" Celestia asked.
"Right. Bye, Princess..." Blue replied. Celestia smiled, closed the door and went away, leaving Blue alone in the ward. Suddenly, there was another knock on the door. This time, it was Meadow Breeze, Blue's precious marefriend, who somehow managed to find out that Blue was here.
"Come in---Meadow?" Blue asked.
"It's me, Bluey." Meadow said, smiling and trotted up to him.
"How are you, Meads? I haven't seen you since last weekend..." Blue said and hugged her.
"I'm fine. What happened to you, if I may ask?" she asked him.
"Just a little accident at work. Nothing too serious." Blue explained.
"Ah, I see. I also heard you were promoted to Private as a Royal Guard. I'm so proud of you, honey." she said and nuzzled him. "I just wish we could be together more often..."
"I wish the same, but unfortunately, my job isn't like that... I forgot to ask, did the travel magazine accept you, Meads?" Blue asked.
"Yes!" Meadow replied and hugged him.
"I'm so happy for you, my Meadow..." Blue said. "But I'm nervous myself... what if I'll be a bad Royal Guard?"
"You won't, Bluey. You'll be a great guard." Meadow reassured him. "I believe in you, honey..." she said and caressed him.
"I couldn't ask for a better marefriend than you, Meads... Thank you for being with me through life's ups and downs." Blue said and kissed her on the forehead.
"And I couldn't have asked for a better coltfriend than you, Blue. Without you, I don't know where I'd be right now... You should get your rest, Bluey." Meadow said and smiled at him. "You'll feel better when you're rested."
"Alright then, Meads." Blue said. "Thanks again."