The sun was quickly setting behind the castle walls. Although it was a gradual change from day to night, it was definitely a much quicker transition than what you were used to on Earth. It was around this time when Celestia's Royal Guard left their post, and Luna's Night Watch would take their place. From there, most of the Royal Guard would either return to the barracks in the castle, or would take the train to see their family. However, you noticed some would hang around their post for another hour to see their friends in the other guard, and you're pretty sure you saw one pair share a kiss; every day at dusk, you made your way from your home in the tower to the training room, where the same guard waited for you. Today, you had to quickly run from the train station to the castle. Although you weren't particularly late, Royal Guard members had a particular emphasis on being punctual.
"You're late." The guard said with arms folded as you burst through the door.
"I'm sorry. There was someone that was leaving that I wanted to say good-bye to."
"That mare you won't shut up about?"
"Shut up." You respond as you put your shoulder-bag on a bench against the wall of the room.
"You know she likes you, right?"
"Shut up." You really didn't like bringing the topic of relationships up. Even back on Earth, it's something you prefer to avoid talking about. It wasn't because you had problems with women, it just made you uncomfortable.
"Who knows, maybe if you ask her out before she goes into heat, you'll get lucky with-"
The guard was quickly cut off when you tossed, or threw, a small black rod in their direction. Much to your surprise, they were able to catch it. They looked at the rod, then back to you with an expression of confusion.
"It's called a baton. Police from my world carried them all the time in case they needed to subdue someone." You went on to explain as you pulled your shirt off, tossing it to the side of the bag. Much like the gyms from Earth, there were large mirrors on the wall. Before tossing on a new shirt, you took a moment to take in how your appearance has changed since coming to Equestria.
Back on Earth, the only sports you really participated in were mixed martial arts. When you were eight years old, you decided to do it as a result of being bullied in elementary. Unfortunately, it didn't help with the bullying at all. In an ironic twist, your classmates actually started making fun of you for that, calling you names like "Naruto". However, you stuck with it. It took about eleven years to reach black belt. Two months after that, you decided to quit. After that, your hobbies consisted of computers and art. You wouldn't call yourself "unhealthy", but there was major room for improvement. When you first arrived in Equestria, you weighed 150lbs. Now, after four months of going to the gym to train with your friend in the Royal Guard, you're now an impressive 151. Deciding not to dwell on it, you threw the white t-shirt on and approached the guard.
"So, if this was common on your world, why are we training with it?" The guard said as you approached him.
"Would you rather use a knife?" You ask, stopping about two feet from the guard. You look at the baton from the corner of your eye. It appears that the guard didn't figure out how to extend it.
"You have a point." The guard says, holding the baton in an underhand fashion.
"Now, try to stab me." You say, getting into a combat stance. Your body is sideways to his, the arm closer to him is bent in his direction, while the other arm covers your chest, but shares the same shape as the extended arm.
The guard wastes little time rushing toward you. You use the arm closer to him to try to keep him back. As you extend your hand, he uses his free arm to knock it to the outside, trying to get you to turn your chest closer to him. As your arm is pushed to the outside, you try to turn your entire body with it and mimic the stance you were in. As you're turning, you swing your back hand towards the guard's head. While the guard is focused on bringing the "knife" to your chest, he completely overlooks your oncoming fist.
You punched so hard, you had to shake your fist.
He made a complete one-eighty as you resumed your stance, just mirrored on the other side. While he was turned around, you lunge forward to put him in a full-nelson. Your arms go under his, like you're about to hug him from behind, but your hands shift up to his head, and hold their place behind his neck. His arms are stuck in the air. He tries to stab the baton behind him, looking for your head.
"Drop the knife and I let go."
He desperately tries to escape the grab, swinging his arms all around and trying to kick you. He keeps it up for a while.
"Drop the knife." You deliberately leave off the last part.
Sighing in defeat, the guard drops the baton. You kick it behind you, but you didn't kick it very hard. Your grip tightened on the guard.
"You said you'd let go!"
"I also told you to stab me."
"Buck!" The guard shouts your name. "Let me go!"
You quickly break from the hold. You half step back and bring your leg up. Before the guard could turn around, you deliver a kick to his back. Although not nearly as big as an effect the punch had, the kick did throw him off balance and caused him to take a few steps forward. Taking your chance, you slide back to where you the baton was. There was now at least thirteen feet of distance between you two as the guard turned to face you. You held the baton in your hand similar to know the guard would hold a sword.
"You're not going to get far holding the knife like that." The guard stated, getting into his own combat stance. In the guard, they teach them to stand similar to how a boxer from Earth would stand in the ring. Hand-to-Hand combat is a very rushed topic in the guard, as it was standard to have a sword, knife, and some other kind of personal defense weapon. Also the fact that there were always at least ten other guards around when there was combat. The guard held his fists a few inches from his face. His elbows jetted out at a forty-five degree angle, completely revealing his chest and stomach. It took a lot of mental strength to not laugh at how absurdly bad he butchered the stance.
"I don't plan on using a knife." You state. The guard gave you a confused look. You flick your wrist and activate the baton. Going from 4 inches, the baton extended to a full foot. The guard's eyes widened and his muscles tensed as you, quite literally, sprinted towards the guard.
You obviously knew that running towards your target is a stupid choice in any real-life scenario. However, you saw the fear in the guard's eyes, the uncertainty in his stance, and the tense arms locked in place. About three feet from him, you quickly turn your
body sideways. The hand that was empty was the side that faced him. You brought your far leg back and stepped behind the forward leg, trying to keep the momentum up from your run. Your unarmed hand circles from your chest to your head, ready to bring down on the guard's head. The guard sees the movement and brings both arms up, making an "X" over his head. You stop your hand just before it makes contact with his block. You pull your armed hand back and deliver it, full force, to his stomach. Instead of using the baton, you decide to use your fist.
You pull back from the punch and into your side-stance, bouncing on the balls of your feet in case he is ready to attack you again. However, you knew full well that the fight was over. The guard held his stomach and fought for breath. You're sure that, in actual combat. he would still be fighting for his life, but in the gym, against you, he's done.
"Y-" The guard struggled desperately for air.
"Take a moment."
"Y-You win."
Out of habit from your mixed martial art days, you bow at the guard and make your way to the bag. An unfamiliar sound stops you half way. The sound is a constant sharp tapping. You look over to the door, and see a member of the Night Watch. Judging from the armor she were wearing, how it was much more decorative than the grunts that watched the walls, they were a high rank.
"Good evening." You say as you nod your head.
"Do all humans fight like that?" She asked.
You couldn't help but laugh to yourself. The images of people on youtube using their $75 katanas to cut through bottles of 2L soda, and the famous "Star Wars Kid" flooded your mind when she asked that question.
"No, no." You regain your composure and return your look to her. "It takes a very long time to learn how to fight like that."
"So why not be more practical and just learn basic hand to hand?" She asked.
"Most people do." You stuff the baton in your bag, then sling it over your shoulder.
"Is he going to be okay?" She asked you, her eyes focusing on the guard curled in a ball on the ground.
"I think I caught him while he was exhaling." You couldn't help but smile. "He'll be fine in a second. He's just in shock."
"If you say so..." The Night Watch pony looked concerned. You felt like you needed to prove that it wasn't that bad.
"Lance! Are you going to die?" You shout.
"Buck......you......." He chokes out.
"He's fine." You look back to the Night Watch pony as you approach the door.
"Wait, human." Normally, her calling you "human" would bother you, but you've gotten used to it. They don't mean it as an insult, they just don't know your name, and it's not like they can call you a stallion. You were about to pass her when she said that. You stop in the doorway and face her. You notice that she is much shorter than the average guards. She has to look up to meet your eyes.
"I've actually watched you fight before. It's very interesting."
"Uh...thank you." You really didn't know how to respond to that statement.
"Do you like fighting?"
That question certainly caught you off guard. You enjoyed being able to fight with friends for practice, but you weren't the type to go out and try to find people to fight.
"If it's a sport. Yes. However I try to avoid fighting outside this training room."
"Ah, are you afraid of getting injured?"
Well, considering the fact you've only stayed in Canterlot where there are guards stationed on every street corner, she wasn't entirely wrong.
"No, I'll defend myself if I need to. Your question is just very vague...I don't want to sound like I go out looking for fights."
"I understand what you mean." The Night Watch pony smiled at you.
You felt a hand on your chest. It wasn't the Watch pony's. The hand came from the training room. You look over to see Lance, although standing, he had his left hand on his stomach and he was slouched over.
"I...I'm going to bed." He said, still breathing heavily. He used the hand on your chest to push himself forward.
"Need some help?" You sincerely ask.
"N-No. I can make it." He leans against the wall and tries his best to walk on his own. Eventually, he manages to disappear behind the darkness of the hallway.
"Looks like you've lost a partner." The Night Watch pony comments.
"He'll be back tomorrow night. He's been through worse." You look back to the Night Watch pony. "Is there a reason you came by tonight?"
"I wanted to see if that guard would finally win. I guess I was wrong." You smiled at that comment. She said it in a way that made it seem like a compliment.
"Also, Nurse Redheart asked me to get you."
"That seems a little more important than watching me and a guard fight."
"Everypony has their own priorities." She shrugged. You smiled.
"I'll go see her right now. Is she in her office."
"She is."
"Okay, thank you." The Night Watch pony turned and started down the hall.
"You never told me your name." You say.
"Lullaby." She says without turning around. "Captain Lullaby."
You would have shouted your own name back, but she disappeared behind the carpet of darkness at the end of the hallway. Either way, chances are that you won't see her again for a long while. When Night Watch guards were on castle grounds, you were asleep. Looking back to ensure that no one was in the training room, you close the doors and make your way to the infirmary.