//------------------------------// // King Magnum // Story: Protection // by Demi-Gryphon //------------------------------// “Fluttershy darling, please explain to me again why my family has this silly tradition of personal royal guards? I mean the castle is full of guards at all times, who are all trained to protect the royal family. I don’t need a guard following me around all the time, especially if this pony is going to be quiet the entire time!” Fluttershy chuckled softly as she shook her at her friends over dramatic statement. “Because when Queen Platinum took the throne every kingdom panicked when a mare took the throne, thinking that everything would fall into disarray, which started dozens of assassination attempts on her life. So she sought out the best masters in the land to train the best soldier she had on hoof and when that pony finished their training he saved the queen dozens of times.” Fluttershy explained as the turned a corner, continuing their journey towards the throne room. “So while under the protection of the royal guard your great grand mother was able to make treaties with many of the rival kingdoms, such as the Minotaurs and Centaurs. Able to open trade routes that benefited all pony kind and the greatest thing she ever accomplished was applying royal funds into poverty stricken villages that now produce some of the finest silk in the land. The very silk you enjoy rolling around on when you get to one of the more…. juicy parts of your books.” The yellow mare teased as she nudged Rarity’s shoulder causing the white mare to blush and clear her throat. Rarity sighed softly as a smile graced her muzzle. “I forgot that you know the entire history of my family, but thank you for the short history lesson darling.” Rarity teased as she looked ahead. Fluttershy just smiled as a faint blush stained her own cheeks. “Sorry Rarity, but my family prides itself on knowing everything about your family. Since we want to keep the treaty strong I made sure to read your family history, twice.” “Darling, twice?! Half the history archives are about my family! You can’t have read it all twice!” Rarity was amazed, many of the earls from the pegasus clan only read a few of the books that informed them of the last two or three rulers. “Why did you put all that effort into it sweet Fluttershy, I understand you’re here to help me with the royal council and to be the voice for pegasus kind. But you really didn’t need to study that much.” Rarity explained as her ears flicked back as a frown appeared on her face, in truth Rarity had only studied the last two generations of the pegasus royalty not thinking she would need to know more then that. Fluttershy just shook her head and smiled softly. “Don’t worry about it Rarity, your family history is rather interesting and amazing at the same time. Every new king or queen always changes the land for the better. Your family has yet to fail to protect and serve pony kind yet.” “That’s what I’m afraid of..” Rarity sighed as her head hung low, she had so much on her shoulders. A family name to live up to and traditions to continue. Everyday she was reminded about the path she was walking and how one false step could affect so many lives. “You will be a great leader Rarity, you’ve done an amazing job helping your father raise your younger sister.” Fluttershy explained as the guards straightened up as the approached the doors. Soon the doors being opened by magic. The room was decorated with large tapestries, each one stitched with a story of the passed rules. From the first Hearth's Warming Eve, to the signing of the peace treaty, to the rise of the royal family, all of which were stitched into Queen Platinums tapestry. Every member of the royal family had done something during their rule, Rarity’s father had accomplished something many ponies claimed would never happen. Making a treaty with the Breezies, many ponies claimed they were nothing but a myth. But one spring the small fairy like creatures made an appearance King Magnum had been quick to make sure the creatures had everything they needed, an when he found out why they had travelled to out of their realm into the land of Equestria he set about making their journey a lot easier. He worked with the Pegasuses to create a gentle breeze for the to travel along, to bring the magic they had collected from the land to their own world. The Breezies had never been so happy to make a new friendship and an even greater ally. As they approached the throne, ponies stood in a line. Each approaching the throne one at a time to address the king with their problems and concerns. But when the king spotted his daughter approaching he held up his hoof to silence the young noble who was trying to get a solution to a farming problem. The king cleared his throat as he stood up from his throne “I would like a moment with my daughter, I shall continue court and any and all questions once I’m finished.” He announced as he waved his hoof at the door, the nobles nodding their heads as they all turned to leave as Rarity finishing her approach to her father’s throne. “Now Daddy, I already know what you’re going to say. So why bother bringing me to the royal court? I could have left already and headed towards the training grounds. The faster I pick a guard the faster I will be able to go shopping and enjoy the opera.” Rarity explained as she sat down near her father's throne. The king chuckled and shook his head. “It’s not that simple Rarity, this guard is going to go through months of training, learning the ins and outs of this castle. Memorizing each nook and cranny, anywhere an intruder could or would hide so they will know to check those places daily. On top of that, they must learn your daily routine by heart, and be able to follow it to the tee, as well as adapt to changes on the fly and knowing you this pony is going to have to be able to live with your busy and constantly changing schedule.” The king teased as he looked ahead. “When the crown is finally upon your head, it’s going to feel like the world is on your shoulders. Judging your every move and critiquing your every judgement. You can’t show any doubt in the choices you make and when the consequences arise from some of your poorer choices you will have to stand by the choice you made. Some; if not many ponies may disagree with you and some will go to the extreme to try and make you suffer for it. That’s why your personal guard must stand by you and never doubt your choices. So the more time your guard has with you will help the two of you gain a trust within each other. It’s why you have such issues with my guard, you didn’t get to develope a level of trust with him like you did with Night Light and so , you doubt him at every turn.” He explained as he gestured to the large stallion sitting off to the far side of the room. “I want you to go to the training grounds and study every pony there, I want you to think long and hard about everything these ponies do while you’re there. If the beg for your attention and show off for you it’s only because you’re the future queen. Look at the ponies more focus on their work and their training. They tend to be the best ones” he continued as he tapped his chin. “Did I ever tell you about how I picked Night Light?” He asked as he turned to face his daughter. Rarity thought for a moment, her mind running over the hundreds of stories her father had told her over the years, soon shaking her head. “No, surprisingly you have not.” She replied as the king chuckled. “I am surprised, it’s a funny story. Come, let’s get comfortable. Bitsworth could you please bring us some tea and biscuits?” “Right away Sir.” The stallion replied before trotting off towards the kitchen, Rarity still didn’t understand how the butler was always around when he was needed. “ I was a little younger than you when my parents told me I need to make my choice. I was twenty-one at the time when they sent me to the training grounds. I was a proud stallion, sure my father would live for at least another thirty years, for the simple reason that your grand father had already lived so long. I wasn’t worried about picking a personal guard, in fact, I almost didn’t want to. I was a bit too cocky for my own good back then.” He said with a chuckle he shifted and settled back in his throne in a less professional manner, softly thanking the butler stallion for the earl grey and chocolate biscuits. Levitating the cup to his lips, he took a sip before continuing, one eye watching his beloved daughter’s reaction. “Now, in order to understand this, I’ll have to give a bit of background. You see, NightLight had been a notorious prankster before he became serious with his training, and gained quite a few ‘enemies’ in the camp as a result of his foalish but brilliant pranks in his younger years as a trainee. The day of the selection, the stallions and mares he’d managed to tick off got together and decided to knock him down a peg or two, planting traps and pranking gags all around the training field he always used.” “O-oh my, why on earth would they do that on selection day!” Rarity gasped out, putting a dainty hoof to her lips as her eyes widened. “They could have gotten you caught in the traps!” She exclaimed, not noticing her father’s lips trembling with suppressed amusement. Clearing his throat, Magnum shot his daughter a wry look before continuing once more. “As I was saying...When I arrived, everypony was practicing in their own fields, to showcase their prowess to me. I spotted a mare or two, as well as a few stallions that would meet my father’s standards, but none of them seemed like a pony I could tolerate being forced to be with almost 24/7. That is, until I came to NightLight’s field. At first, it seemed like any other showcase, precise, skilled, and over all a cookie cutter presentation….until he set off the first tripwire.” The older stallion said, chuckling softly as his eyes glazed over a bit, remembering the hilarity that ensued once the first tripwire was hit. ~[Flashback]~ Metal glinted in the harsh sun as the soft whirr of blades slicing through the air became more prominent, a dark blue stallion going through a complex formation of thrusts, parries, sidesteps, and jumps. Multiple swords held up by a soft blue glow surrounded the stallion, arcing through the air at incredible speeds towards an invisible opponent. Just as the beautiful but deadly dance came to a climax, a strange ‘twang’ was heard and the nameless stallion’s ears perked up, his eyes widening. Before anypony could react, the flash of a timed teleportation spell went off over the stallion’s head and the stallion was suddenly covered from head to toe in viscous, sweet smelling honey. Stumbling a few steps forwards, another ‘twang’ was heard, followed by the angry symphony of a hive of bees. Blanching, the dark blue stallion took off towards the water troughs only to set off one last tripwire, this one being the grande finale. The field was quickly lost in a cloud of colored dust, flying pies, chicken feathers, honey, various neon paint colors, and glue. The ensuing chaos enveloped the nearby spectators, as well as the next field over. Thankfully, no pony was in the next field, but the spectators weren’t so lucky. When the rainbow of dust settled, a tied up, neon rainbow colored, pie splattered, chicken/pony hybrid rested at a regal spectator’s feet, groaning softly. Looking up, the former blue stallion blanched as he noted the patches of pristine white fur, royal garb, and silver circlet that signified a prince of the royal family. “I-I...I...u-umm…” The stallion stuttered out while everypony else held their breath. “I-I’m so sorry, I d-didn’t know the field was boobytraped…!” The stallion spluttered out as he tried to stand and brush himself off, failing rather spectacularly at the task and promptly faceplanting on the rainbow colored ground, his feathered rear sticking up in the air. Prince Magnum was in a quandary, he had absolutely no idea of what to make of this situation. He was covered almost head to toe in sticky, rainbow colored chicken feathers and pie innards with a tied up, rainbow chicken stallion hybrid at his feet, looking about ready to crawl in a hole and die. After a moment or two of stunned silence a soft chuckle echoed through the training field, the spectators going wide eyed as they realized just who was chuckling. Soon, the soft chuckle turned into a deep bellied laugh, the Prince’s left foreleg gripping his barrel as he let loose. “Bwaaahahahahaha!!! Oh sweet Celestia! Who in Tartarus did you piss off…?!” The formerly white stallion gasped out between laughs, ignoring the thunderstruck looks of his guards for the day and the nearby trainees. Sheepishly, the trainee looked up and gave a lopsided grin. “Ehh...just about the entirety of my first year barrack.” The stallion said as he slowly untangled himself and stood up, giving a rainbow feathered salute to the prince. “Trainee NightLight at your service Your Highness.” The stallion barked out, slipping back into his serious mask. Well, about as serious as one can be when looking like a pony shaped rainbow chicken with pie innards stuck in your feathers. Prince Magnum nearly went into another fit of laughter at the sight of a serious ‘rainbow chicken’. “W-well met Trainee NightLight, well met.” The Prince managed to chuckle out before slipping on his own ‘royal’ mask. ~[Flashback End]~ “And that, my dear daughter, was the first time I met Nightlight. After we were all cleaned up, I insisted that NightLight showcase his skills once more, this time without sabotage, and found that he was in fact, a cut above the rest of the trainees, and a perfect candidate for my personal guard. It was then that I made my choice. If I had to be stuck with an annoying shadow for the rest of my life, it might as well be one that could slip in and out of his ‘Guard’ mask and be a friend when I needed one. Someone I could laugh with to relieve stress, and what a better way to do that than to bring up the disaster that was his first try out every time I needed a laugh?” The king said, chuckling softly at his daughter’s thunderstruck expression. “Besides, once he married, ‘The Incident’ was the best blackmail material. I could get him to sneak me almost anything...of course I may have put on a few pounds from all of the ‘use’ of the blackmail material…” Magnum said, flushing slightly as he remembered the small gut he’d accumulated from all the late night binges on chocolate eclairs courtesy of his blackmail-whipped guard. “So don’t look for the fastest, the strongest, look for a pony that has skills the military doesn’t train. Some pony different then the cookie cutter design the generals have created” he explained, Rarity nodding her head as she turned towards the door. Fluttershy following behind without a word. Today, today was going to be the start of something very different.