Once upon a time, today for that matter, Princess Celestia had tasked Shining Armor with getting rid of a couple hydras down in the forest by Foal Mountain, and he brought me along for the fun. Fun, as in, trying to hold back a hydra trapped in a cave with my enchanted magic sword while Shining Armor was in the distance and running straight for me, another hydra on his tail. I looked back at the cave entrance and gritted my teeth, the enchanted sword covering it as a shapeshifted wall. As the banging from the hydra’s heads crashing into it continued, I wondered whether I should've helped the Captain or stayed put. Yup, fun.
“Come on, Shining Armor, you can make it!”
“It’s too big for the cave!” he said.
His head darted around, and he veered left, heading straight for a chasm. I watched wide-eyed as he led the hydra over the edge.
“Captain!”
In a split second decision, I reshaped my sword into a surfboard and jumped on, pumping as much magic into it as I could and speeding towards the chasm. I heard the previously-trapped hydra roar and start charging me, but I didn't look back.
Faster, faster!
I swooped over the edge, swerved around the panicked falling hydra, and with one last magic burst of speed, caught the Captain, having to dodge both hydras as they plummeted after me. They slammed into the bottom of the chasm with a thunderous sound, and I was out. I hopped off my surf-sword and put Shining Armor down with a relieved sigh.
“Sir, if you don’t mind me asking, have you gone insane?” I asked.
Shining Armor only rubbed his eyes and shook his head. “What happened?”
“You jumped into a chasm, forcing me to dive after you! Do you have any idea what Cadance would say if I didn’t bring you back to her? She’d throw me in a dungeon!”
He stood up and brushed off his armor. “How else was I supposed to get rid of the hydra on my back? You don’t exactly stop a charging hydra with a protection spell. Thanks for saving my rump though.”
I grunted. “Right. I’m sure Cadance will love to hear about this one. Let’s get back to Canterlot already, Princess Celestia will be glad to know those beasts have been dealt with.”
*
My name is Swordulan Thunder Shield. I know it's a bit of a mouthful, but I blame my father. He always preferred things on the extravagant side. Most ponies just call me Swordulan though, and that's fine by me. All I care about is doing my job. Not that it’s usually as crazy as taking out a few hydras threatening Canterlot in the forest near Foal Mountain; this was certainly one of the more exciting days since I joined the Royal Guard.
I had joined up only weeks before, and getting assigned to help the Captain on something as big as this was surprising. I could only guess it had to do with my sword-wielding talents. Earth or pegasus ponies usually have to wield swords in their mouths, hooves, or wings, wings being the best of those, but the best weapon experts were us unicorns, capable of any technique with magic, so long as were were talented enough with it.
That was my special talent, sword-fighting using magic. I had a strong tool for it too. My sword—a steel broadsword with a gold strip through the middle and a golden hilt embedded with three cyan colored crystals—was enchanted. I had it forged on the day of recruitment, and as far as I know, I was the only guard who thought to enchant their weapon.
Enchantments can do a number of specific things, like making an item weigh less, or change its density, or even set a constant temperature, but for my sword, it simply made manipulating it with magic easier. Much easier, and in my understanding of magic, far more than it should have. It allowed me to cast spells more powerfully through the blade, change it into just about any size and shape, and as I demonstrated, let me fly on it. On the subject of maximum speed, I wasn’t sure. I was still in the process of testing how much magic and speed the sword, and myself, could take.
I attributed the sword’s strangely powerful abilities to an anomaly that occurred right after enchanting it, an explosion of non-violent magical energy. I wasn’t sure what it was or how it happened. Any enchantment magic textbooks I read told me nothing. None of my old professors at the School for Gifted Unicorns knew anything about it either.
However it happened, I was just grateful that it got me on a mission with Shining Armor. Guarding Princess Cadance’s room was great and all, but it got boring every once in a while. Sitting still for hours also made my legs uncomfortably stiff. I would’ve asked for wall patrol if it weren’t for getting brief but interesting glimpses into the lives of Princess Cadance and Shining Armor.
*
Back in the present time, I was preparing our return to Canterlot by using a sight spell on my sword, allowing me to see wherever the sword pointed. It was a simple spell that all unicorn guards memorized to help with monitoring buildings like the Canterlot Archives or certain rooms in the castle. With the spell cast, I began levitating the sword up into the air.
“What are you doing?” Shining Armor asked curiously.
“Flying my sword to Canterlot, I hope,” I said. “I don’t know what the range of my magic is to my sword, but so far I haven’t hit a limit on that. If I can get it to the barracks, I should be able to teleport us both to it. I hope.”
His eyes widened. “You’re going to teleport both of us that far? Swordulan, I’m not sure you can handle that. I don’t want you getting yourself hurt.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll know if it’s too much. Besides, you can put a protection spell around us just in case.” I could see down into Canterlot now. I spotted the Royal Barracks and began bringing the sword down. I wondered how it must have looked to everyone who saw it. Random flying sword and all. “Alright, there. Ready?”
Shining Armor cast a protection spell around us. “This better not explode in our faces.”
“Have some confidence, Captain.”
I locked my magic onto the sword’s position and began channeling between it, myself and Shining Armor. With one burst of magic, it whipped us both off and in a flash we appeared next to my sword and outside the barracks, albeit a foot in the air and upside down.
“Oof!”
I pounded a hoof on the ground. “Ponyfeathers, I hate it when this happens!” I yanked my horn free of the soil.
“Nice job,” Shining Armor said, standing up. I couldn’t tell if he was being sarcastic. He'd somehow managed to land on his back and not his horn.
I stood up and dusted myself off. “I must have miscalculated the pull of gravity.”
Shining Armor grunted and adjusted his armor. “Right. I’m going to report back to Princess Celestia. By my account, you’ve earned a break, so feel free to go grab a donut at Joe’s or something, but meet back here at noon.”
I gave a nod and salute. “Thank you, Captain.”
As Shining Armor trotted off, I retrieved my sword and magically began removing my armor as I walked into the barracks, finding the locker room and putting it away. I kept my sword magically strapped onto my waist like a belt though; I didn’t like going anywhere without it.
The first place I thought to go was my parent’s house. I hadn’t paid them a visit for a while, mostly because of… well, I didn’t feel like hearing whatever my dad had to say to me. He’s the whole reason I was here, not by my own choice. I had wanted to become a magician, not a Royal Guard. Not that I wasn’t happy or anything, but I often wondered what life would be like if my father had never been there to make me train day and night.
I couldn’t just forget about my parents though, and a few minutes later I was at their door and awkwardly knocking. I still wasn’t used to knocking on the door to my old home, but it seemed appropriate. It opened and my mother, Sacred Shield, came into view, beaming as she recognized me.
“My little Shield, I’ve missed you!” she said, giving me a hug. That nickname still kills me inside. My mother was a white-coated unicorn with a light blue and purple mane and tail, and her cutie mark was a thermometer. She looked me over with her bright blue eyes in a worried expression. “What happened to you? You’re all scratched up. Did you get in a fight? Come in, let me fix you up.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m fine, Mom. I—”
She grabbed me by the ear in her magic and dragged me inside. “No excuses! You’re a mess. Sit down.”
I sighed and sat down on the living room couch. I couldn’t remember how many times I had been here for her to do a full checkup on me. Not the best perk of having an over-concerned nurse as a mother.
“Really Mom, it’s nothing. Just a bit of hard work I had to do this morning.”
Mom cleaned a sponge and began dabbing at my face. “I’m sure, but you need to be more careful. You could get an infection from one of those cuts.” She began putting small amounts of ointment wherever I had gotten cut while fighting the hydras, making me wince. “There, that should do it. Unfortunately you just missed your father, he’s off to work. Maybe you could stop by later? I’m sure he’d love to see you.”
I shrugged uncomfortably. “I don’t know, I think I have more work. This is just a quick visit.” I was rather glad my father wasn’t here. My last visit when he was didn’t go so well.
Mom sat down on a comforter opposite of me and hummed. “I see. So, how has work with the Royal Guard been?”
“It’s been good,” I said, nodding slowly. “Been kinda slow, but I’ve been getting to know Princess Cadance and Shining Armor more, so that’s been nice.”
“Oh? I ran into Cadance just the other day, she seemed very sweet. I wonder when she’ll get to ruling her own kingdom.”
I shrugged. “She’s been wondering that too, and hoping she’ll stumble across some beautiful land to call home for herself and Shining Armor.”
“I’ll bet. He’s a handsome one. You know if they’re getting married yet?”
I smirked. I always found the whole 'my Captain is dating the Princess I’m guarding' thing a bit funny. “Don’t know. He hasn’t proposed yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it happened soon.”
“Well, I bet they’re just trying to get ready for something like that. It takes time. Took me and your father three years, in fact. You haven’t met anyone in the Royal Guard, have you?”
I felt my cheeks grow hotter. “No, I haven’t, and haven’t been looking. I’m too busy.”
Mom sighed. “Right. So are you going to tell me what exactly it was that got you in a scuffle this morning? Hard work doesn’t get you cuts and bruises like those.”
“It was nothing, just a couple of hydras over near Foal Mountain that Shining Armor and I took care of.”
Her eyes widened. “Hydras? Goodness, isn’t that a big assignment for you so early? You could’ve been seriously hurt.”
Or dead, really, but she could never believe I’d actually die while at work. I never really thought about that either. “It was a piece of cake. My sword was a big help. Speaking of which, I’m a bit concerned about it and what it can do.”
“Your sword?”
I magically took it off my waist and changed it back into its normal form. “It’s enchanted.”
She looked at it with a hint of disgust in her eye. “You’ve never told me about that. What sort of enchantment?”
“Just a basic enchantment for easier magic manipulation, I don’t know much about that sort of magic to do otherwise. But it seems that the enchantment turned out more powerful than it should have, and it’s made me worried that something might go wrong with it, or I might push it too far and something bad could happen.”
“Oh dear. What have you been doing with it?”
“Just this morning I used it as a wall strong enough to stop a hydra, and to fly at… I’m not sure how fast, and also to teleport myself and Shining Armor back here from Foal Mountain.”
She gasped. “You teleported that far? That’s not safe at all! You need to be more careful, and you should've walked back.”
I sighed. “I know. It’s just weird, it feels so easy. I’m not sure if it’s just my special talent, or there’s something else going on.”
“Hmm. I’m sure your father will want to see it.”
I shifted in place. “Yeah, sure. I’ll have to stop by another time to show him, but work comes first right now. But you’ll tell him I’m doing well, right?”
She nodded. “Of course, but you better come by again soon. He wants to see you.”
“I will, I promise. I better get going though.” I stood up and made for the door, and she followed after me. “I’ll see you later, Mom.”
She gave me one last hug. “Alright, thanks for coming by. I love you, and stay safe!”
“I love you too, and I will.”
I trotted off with one last wave goodbye and made my way back to the barracks, where I got assigned to guard Cadance’s room for the rest of the day. She was inside with the door open when I got there, simply looking through some papers. I knocked and she glanced back with a welcoming smile.
“Back already? How’d it go with the hydras?” she asked.
I tilted my head in confusion. “Shining Armor hasn’t stopped by to tell you yet?”
Cadance shook her head. “He didn’t want to talk about it for some reason. Did something happen?”
I smirked. “Oh, not really. He jumped off a cliff, I saved him.”
Cadance gaped. “What? What was he thinking?”
I shrugged. “He probably wasn't thinking, and just wanted the hydra that was chasing him to go away. Everything turned out fine though.”
Cadance frowned and muttered, “I’ll have to have a few words with him about that.” She held a hoof to her chest and took a deep breath, moving her hoof forward as she let it out. “The Summer Sun Celebration is in a few days. I’ve been put in charge of the festivities here in Canterlot, but Celestia will be in Ponyville this year. Will you be joining?”
I shook my head. “Shining Armor assigned me to be Princess Celestia’s escort, so I’ll be celebrating in Ponyville this year.”
“Oh, that should be exciting. It’s a lovely town.”
“Yeah. Well, I’ll just let you get to your duties and I’ll get to mine. Call if you need anything.”
She smiled and turned back to her papers. “Thank you.”
I took my spot outside her door and began standing deathly still, as usual. I was slightly anxious about my assignment to escort Princess Celestia, but I doubted anything would go wrong. Just another simple Summer Sun Celebration.