I woke up this morning knowing it was my first day of being Captain of the Royal Guard. I should be excited, but it feels like every other day. I should be getting up at 6AM like a little colt on Hearth’s Warming, but it felt like any other morning. I got up, took a shower, got dressed, Octavia made me breakfast and walked me to work. It was just like any other day, but with a new title tacked onto my name. It was weird because I was excited whenever I got promoted, just not this time.
“What’s wrong?” Octavia asked me as we walked to the castle.
“I don’t know. Maybe it’s because Captain Iron Side isn’t here.”
“He really did mean a lot to you, didn’t he?”
“He really was like my dad, and now he’s gone.”
“Well, you can still write to him. And is this really how he would want you to react? He gave you his job because he knows that you can do it, and you’re not going to get anything done while you’re in that mood. I was planning on surprising you tonight, but…”
Octavia leaned in and whispered in my ear. It was something that I would rather not repeat. I tried to keep in a smile because we were outside the castle and Celestia was quickly coming towards us. Octavia gave me a kiss on the cheek and said good-bye.
Celestia gave me a look over, like she did on my first day of training. Because I was now the captain, I was allowed to dress a little more formally, so long as I still look presentable. Captain Iron Side always wore his medals on his navy blue uniform. While I didn’t have as many medals as he did, I thought that I would at least wear something similar. Celestia knew this and she was obviously proud.
“Captain,” she said.
“Mom, I’m not on duty for another five minutes.”
Celestia grabbed me the second I finished talking, giving me one of the tightest hugs she has ever given me. Of course, I hugged back. Really, I’m here because of her. I told her this and she responded with “I know” and then went on to talk about how proud she was. Before I knew it, the five minutes were up and I was on duty.
Celestia showed me to my new office, which was Captain Iron Side’s old office with all his pictures gone and a second desk was added. I checked the small room to see if he left the heavy bag. He did and he put a note on it.
This job can be hell. Enjoy.
-IS
I smiled and decided to keep the note at my desk as a reminder of the stallion that came before me. In the corner of the room was a suit of armor with my cutie mark on the chest. There was another stand that looked like it held another suit of armor. I guess Shining spent the night and put on his armor.
“Morning,” Shining said as he came into the room wearing his armor. “Got you coffee.”
“Felt like playing soldier?” I said as I took the cup.
“Went on patrol and we have to wear it when we go on patrol.”
“I think your armor is going to see a lot more action than mine.”
“You just have a little more paperwork. Besides, you can go out and have fun whenever you want.”
“Yeah, but now comes the hard part.”
I threw a large stack of folders on his desk. They were applications to join the royal guard. Every year we get hundreds of applications to join the royal guard. Usually, we can only accept somewhere between thirteen to twenty-five new guards per session. The only problem is that there really isn’t a criteria for new guards and we have to go with our gut more times than not.
“That evil genius left before he had to pick new ones. This is going to take all day.”
“Why don’t you start giving the guards assignments and patrol Canterlot and I’ll get started on these.”
“Are you sure? There has to be at least a hundred of these.”
“It’s fine. My duty is to wait for the princesses to need me.”
“Only if you’re sure.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll save you some.”
Shining smiled and went back to patrolling with a few of the first years. Shining was one of the more unique guards because he likes to train the first years. He says that he feels like he was made to be a guard and it’s his duty to train as many ponies as he can. Bless him for that, because I wouldn’t be able to stand training them.
I opened the first folder and took out the application on top. Applications are basically a personal story and their protective instincts test. I was looking for ponies that want to protect Canterlot at all costs. I wanted a pony that would give his life for the city even if they weren’t paid. It took all day, but I was able to get through the pile and pick out fifty applicants. Unfortunately, we can only take fifteen this session. I sighed as I looked at the other two piles of applications on my desk. Lucky for me, these were for the other two branches and I just have to meet with the heads of those branches sometime this week.
I thought about making my rounds of the castle when the door flung open.
“Thank god you’re here,” Cadence said as she came into the room.
“What do you need, princess?”
“It’s an emergency in room 241. Code Blue.”
“I’m not falling for this one, Cadence. Last time you called a Code Blue you almost got me fired.”
“Cady?” The bane of my existence said. “Where is the maid? The towels in my room are not folded correctly.”
“You have got to be kidding me.”
“Cady, there you are,” Blueblood said as he entered my office. “Listen, Cady, have you seen…oh hello porter.”
“That’s Captain Porter to you.”
“Golden and Shining became the new Captains of the Royal Guard.”
“Are you still dating that fellow? I rather like him.”
“Yeah. Our anniversary is-”
“Well I best be off to find one of the castle’s lazy maids. Ta-ta. Oh, and have a guard on stand-by for whatever I need.” I wanted to jump out of my seat and celebrate when he left the room. Somehow, he has gotten worse.
“How long?” I asked Cadence.
“You wouldn’t want to hear the answer.”
“Just tell me.”
“He’s moving into the castle.”
“Looks like Captain Iron Side left at the right time. Does he really expect me to set a guard aside just for him?”
“Captain Iron Side just said he would. How’s your first day?”
“A lot of paperwork, although I did offer to do it so Shining could patrol.”
“Well, at least you’re happy. You are happy, right?”
“Of course I am. This is my dream job. It’s a little more paperwork than I expected, but I don’t mind. I was about to make my rounds of the castle.”
“You might have to hold off on that. Auntie Celestia asked for you.”
“At least I get a chance to walk around.”
I got up from my desk for the first time that day and walked with Cadence to wherever Celestia was. She was in the castle’s meeting room with the Queen of the Changelings.
“Ma’am,” I said to Celestia as I entered the room, “Princess Cadence said you needed me.”
“Captain Golden, I would like to introduce you to Queen Chrysalis, the queen of the changelings. Queen Chrysalis, this is Captain Golden Shield.”
“What happened to that other one?” Her voice was twisted and almost nightmarish.
“He retired as of yesterday, ma’am. I, along with Captain Shining Armor, replaced him. Do not worry, we were both trained by him.”
“It shows. You are just as formal as he was.”
“We need to get to business Queen Chrysalis,” Celestia said. “I understand there was an important matter to discuss.”
“Yes, but I don’t understand why he needs to be here. I’m sure he has other tasks he needs to attend to.”
“The same reason I always asked Captain Iron Side to attend our meetings. I asked Captain Golden to be here to represent the common pony of Equestria. As Captain of the Royal Guard, he has their safety and best interests in mind. Now, what did you want to talk about?”
“The laws currently in place regarding changelings. I want them abolished. They are an insult to my species.”
“Hold on, ma’am,” I said, “I have to remind you that a changeling snuck into this castle, took a princess hostage, and then impersonated her. The laws are there to make sure no pony has anything to worry about.”
“That was one rogue changeling. It has absolutely nothing to do with how we act. I believe my subjects have proven that they can restrain themselves around ponies.”
“I’m sorry, but revoking the law will cause panic and paranoia. As Captain of the Royal Guard, I have to formally reject your proposal.”
“Alright,” She said with a bit of frustration. “There was one more matter I wanted to bring up. The changelings need a steady food source. As you know, we feed on love and Equestria has more love than any other place. I offer you this deal: You let us feed off of your love and we will give you a steady supply of the finest silk and my changelings will help protect Equestria.”
“I’m afraid I have to decline that offer as well,” Princess Celestia said.
“What? Why not?” Queen Chrysalis was angry and visibly frustrated.
“You should know that draining a pony of their love makes them weak and disoriented. I cannot put my subjects through that. Plus, how am I to choose which ponies? As princess, my priority is to ensure the safety and happiness of everypony in Equestria.”
“Fine!” She shouted. Two guards burst in the room as I readied to protect the princess. I held up my hand to tell them not to attack until given the order. “Be warned Princess, there will come a day where I will have you begging and I will remember this day. And you, you will be begging for mercy. I will have you on your knees begging for the release of death.”
The queen started to leave and I ordered the guards to follow her and watch her closely. Lucky for us, she didn’t try anything and left with as much class as she could.
“Interesting first day?” Celestia asked me.
“Not really. It was mostly paperwork and then this. I hope Shining had a more interesting day than me.”
“That’s unfortunately going to happen more often than not, especially for you. You have to protect me, Luna, and Cadence from any dangers. Unfortunately for you, that doesn’t happen too often. However, you are in charge of ponies and you are living your dream.”
“I wasn’t complaining, if that’s what you’re thinking. I’ve been watching Captain Iron Side since I got here and I’ve prepared for this. I don’t care if it’s all just paper work, I’m doing what I love.”
“That’s good to hear. You’re off duty in a little while and dinner is going to be served soon. Will you join us?”
“Sorry, but I have plans with Octavia.”
“Well, you two have fun. And give this to her, for me. It’s that thing we were talking about.” Celestia handed me a closed envelope with Octavia’s full name on it. I took the envelope, hugged Celestia, and walked back to my office. I put a few things in order on my desk and did a little prepping for tomorrow. Shining came in and immediately took a seat at his desk. He looked tired and physically spent.
“Long day?” I asked.
“You don’t know the half of it. What about you? Enjoy your paperwork.”
“I did more than that today. The queen of the changelings decided to pay us a visit. She wanted some unreasonable things, but she left with nothing.”
“That sounds way more interesting than my day. All I did was chase around a few punks.”
“The more things change, I guess. Alright, I’m going to get going. I left some applications on your desk. Pick the fifteen you want to train.”
“Hey, I need to talk to you about something before you go.”
“What?”
“It’s about Nightingale. He committed an act of treason against Princess Celestia and he needs to be punished.”
“I deal with it tomorrow.”
“Well, that’s the thing.”
“Let me go!” I heard Nightingale shout from the hallway. “I didn’t do anything!”
“What did you do, Shining?”
“My job. He’s a criminal and I apprehended him.”
“No, you did my job. If he put a princess’s life in danger, then it’s my job to stop him.”
“Yeah, but you have a conflict of interest. He’s your cousin, which means you’re more likely to go easier on him. When there is a conflict, then the next head of command takes over their duties.”
I ran out into the hallway to find Nightingale trying to get free of two guards.
“Get off him,” I commanded.
“Sorry, Captain Golden. Captain Shining has told us to disregard all orders,” One of the guards said.
“Golden! Help me!”
“What are you doing?” Princess Luna asked. The guard immediately let go of Nightingale and bowed.
“Our apologies, Princess Luna. Captain Shining told us to arrest Nightingale.”
“Under what charges?”
“Treason against Princess Celestia.”
“I assume that Captain Shining did not hear. Nightingale was not in his right mind and under Nightmare Moon’s control. Princess Celestia pardoned Nightingale for his crimes. Plus, the law states that you cannot arrest a captain without the written consent of a princess.”
“Captain?” I asked.
“I have decided that you and Captain Shining need some help. While you two are fantastic guards, you cannot be there for us all the time. I have established the Lunar Guard, to help protect Equestria at night. I have named Nightingale the Captain of the Lunar Guard.”
The guards looked at each other with a bit of worry in their eyes. They realized that they would be taking orders from Nightingale in a matter of hours. They quickly walked away and I chuckled. Nightingale smiled and hugged Luna. He then gave me a smile and walked away. I was amazed that Luna was that quick with coming up with something like that. She have me a triumphant smile and thanked me for my service today.
I walked back to my apartment as the sun was setting. There was something that I always found enchanting about the night, and that feeling got stronger when Luna returned. What made me happier was that ponies started to really appreciate the night. They used it to have parties with friends, spend time with their families, or spend time with the pony you love.
I opened the door to the apartment to find it had completely changed. The lights were turned off and the room was lit by candles. There was a record of classical music playing in the background. Octavia was sitting at the end of a table, which had a still hot meal on it, wearing a beautiful dress.
“There’s my captain,” She said with a smile. “How was your first day?”
“Perfect,” I said as I smiled back at her.
“Well, get dressed. There is a suit in your room.”
“Before I forget, Princess Celestia wanted me to give us this.” I handed Octavia the envelope and she opened it. She read and her jaw dropped.
“Princess Celestia wants me to play at the Grand Galloping Gala. Golden, this…this…I don’t know what this is. It’s the opportunity of a lifetime.”
“I know and you wouldn’t believe how much convincing it took.”
“You did this?”
“I might have had a hand in it.”
“I don’t know what to say. Thank you so much.”
Octavia had a smile on her face all night. She planned everything out that night. It started with dinner, then we danced in the living room, and then…anyway, that was the night I realized something. I loved Octavia more than anypony, but it was more than that. I loved every little bit of her. Everything she did perfectly, everything she did wrong, all her flaws, even her quirks. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her.