//------------------------------//
// Prologue  
// Story: Day to Day: A story of a Royal Guard armorer 
// by HelicalGear 
//------------------------------//


Day to Day
A story of a Royal Guard armorer


Prologue


Ponies often ask what ones profession is, and for a royal guard that is easy to answer. They guard the most important ponies in Equestria and make it their duty to see that official functions, meetings and public events are safe for their VIP and the ponies who gather to see them. 
From the outside, the Canterlot Guard, Royal Guard and even the House Guard, to an extent, look like one big organization. The rank, uniform and duties can seem so alike that your regular pony wouldn't even notice the difference until it was pointed out to them. 
I guess this works well to show the guard as one big, well oiled machine that works so efficiently that nopony can or even cares to notice the complex structure that makes up the Royal Canterlot Guard.  

This, however, is where a pony like me comes in to burst the bubble of that outward uniformity. Of course, the Princess's have their own House Guard, with their own particular uniforms to set them aside from most guard units. Then you have the Palace guard, who although they look similar to Princess Celestia's guard, have their own differences. Then you have the City Guard, who again, have different requirements. This is the kind of imformation I have been trained and taught to understand.

I am Helical Gear, a specialist within the Canterlot Guard Armory, and my job is to ensure that all equipment, armor, weapons, training aids and so on are built, maintained, stored and modified as per the request of the officers and individuals within the Canterlot Guard. 
I have not always been a member of the guard, in fact, before enlisting I was a timepiece maker in Baltimare with a pretty comfortable life until ambition began to push me to do something bigger in life. My work was well known throughout the major cities of Equestria and I had even been commissioned by the Royal Palace. Visiting the palace to deliver my works had been an inspiration to me. Seeing the guards up close and even talking to one or two during my visit had made me see that if I had the chance turn my hoof to something, that would do ponies more good than being able to read the time, might be worth a shot. I know it wasn’t going to be an easy change of lifestyle and that my life building clocks was not the best experience to prepare me for what I wanted to do, but something in the posture of the guards gave me pause. So proud, upright and confident, meanwhile, the best I could manage was hunch over a workbench. What I created had been called beautiful, but clocks and watches tend to only have a rather singular purpose. I started to wonder if I could be protecting ponies with my craftponyship rather than simply allow them to declare what time it was. After that visit I decided to leave my shop in my uncles hooves and join the guard. 

The recruitment officer stared at me across the table in the Baltimare recruitment center, his eyebrow raised in curiosity as he reviewed my papers. The older stallion, a unicorn with a dark gray coat and faded blonde mane looked up to me.
"You make clocks.."
"Yes sir"
"And now... you want to be a guard?"
"That’s... Why I’m here..... Uh, sir" I forced a smile that maybe looked more confident than I felt.
The recruitment officer gave me a dangerous glance. Ok, note to self, sense of humor is optional.
"No family background in the military, tradition of inventors and engineers, all with good money and good lives" He continued in a deep, lethargic monotone.
"Correct sir"
"Why do you wish to join the guard and give up all this?"
I had to consider the question carefully, the wrong answer would make him skeptical and perhaps revoke my enlistment papers. I sat a moment and pondered what to say. I had even practiced my response before coming to the interview, but now I was here, now it was real.
"Clocks tend to only protect ponies from being late to work, I would like a chance to do more than that"I stated, hoping the minor joke would come across more sincere. 
The recruitment officer tilted his head, his stern look held for another moment before he smiled... slightly.
"Well, it still seems silly to me, giving up a comfortable life like you have now, but I see the reasoning behind what you want to do. I can't fault that." 

The next six months of my life were just what every other guard experiences. Weeks of training, lectures, inspections, shouting, galloping, making mistakes then making different mistakes, being tested and finally, passing out as a guard. Where things differ for me was the week after passing out.

I was sat outside the Pony Resource office in the palace, idly waiting my training review and assignment orders. Looking to the wall opposite I peered at the recruitment board. It seemed to me that nearly every guard unit was recruiting. City Guard, Palace Guard, and even Princess Luna's House Guard. I recalled a speech that was given to us on the importance of procedure and using our heads by one of the guards assigned to Princess Luna. He was a stern, matter-of-fact kind of pony, I remember thinking that although his speech felt a little ...scripted... that he was very confident and was a good example of the quality the House Guard demanded. Now don't get me wrong, protecting royalty is a vital job, but I am not overly keen on standing still for so long, which was made apparent during my training where my drill and parade scores were some of the lowest on my record. I blame the muffin eating contest our cadre had the night before our final ceremonial assessment. 

The officer door opened and a pale green earthpony mare with a black mane appeared around to look at me, she wore the rank of Warrant Officer.
"Guard Helical Gear, come in" She said, motioning into the office.
I followed her in and stood next to the chair, waiting as she moved around and sat, before nodding to me, I took my seat and sat upright, shoulders square.
"So, in case you don't know, in this meeting I will be reviewing your training and what ever comments your instructors have put in before I issue you with your assigned duties, is that clear?"
"Yes ma'am" I said, nodding for emphasis.
"Good" She opened a folder on her desk and began to look through it. She showed no reactions to what she read as her blue eyes scanned the pages at an almost leisurely pace. 
"Your intellectual tests and physical training are good, your drill seems to be somewhat lacking. Fair pony relation skills" 
She rhymed off a few more of the highlights and down points on my file before closing it then fixing me with a stern gaze that caused me to stiffen my posture, ‘here it comes’ I thought to myself.
"You are a -fair- guard Helical, with some skills excelling and some aspects that still need work. Is that fair to say?"
"Yes ma'am" 
"Well, let's first work with what you have, a background in metalworking, specifically creating small, intricate items. So let's put that to use shall we?"
I nodded "Yes ma'am"
She nodded in return and slid a piece of paper across the table towards me.
"Guard Helical Gear, you are assigned to the palace guard armory. There you will undertake further training on the forging, fitting and how to maintain all of the various kinds of armor, weapons and such that the Palace Guard and both House Guard units use in their day to day work and practice. Please report to Sergeant Steelmane who will be your supervisor"
I looked at the paper a moment then returned my gaze to the Warrant Officer.
"Understood ma'am" I said, trying to suppress a smile as best I could, there was no way I could have asked for a better place to be, or so I thought right then at least. 
She narrowed her eyes, waiting to see if my efforts to remain professional would hold up
"Dismissed" She said after a moment.
"Thank you ma'am" I got up and left the room, closing the door on the way out I let out a long breath then smiled. I was going to put my skills and talent to real use! I was joining the Palace Guard Engineering section.