Super Secret Cider Squeezy 6000

by nucnik

A Short Introduction

The Royal Guards have always held the ultimate authority over Equestria for as long as they have existed and given that they were there when Celestia banished Luna to the Moon, they have been around for quite a while. It’s only natural that their courage and fortitude are shown in schools as examples of how a stallion should be, much in the same way that the princesses’ kindness and love are the desired traits of every mare. Small wonder than that just about every colt wants to grow up to be a Royal Guard and every filly a Princess. At least one of those is realistic.

Of course, the phase of blind admiration and fantasies of fame and glory that come with such a position only lasts for so long before a new desire replaces it. Suddenly the Firefighters are more interesting, wrestling with the blazes of an inferno and coming out covered in ashes with a relieved victim on their backs. Or perhaps Medical Ponies, or even Mailponies, as they get to travel a lot and have many adventures with angry dogs and the like. Some even fantasized about going to the Moon to do battle with Nightmare Moon, although quite how they were supposed to achieve that was beyond anypony, even themselves. I’m sure some from the never generations were very disappointed when she actually returned, but in any case there sure are a lot of possibilities for a young colt, at least in his mind.

I never really got past the whole Royal Guard phase. Oh, I had many ideas before about how my life would turn out, from the very obvious to the impossible, and the fact that I would grow up as the strongest, handsomest and most clever pony who ever lived was of course a given, as it was for everypony else at the time. Then we discovered the Royal Guards and it quickly became an obsession I couldn’t shake, not that I tried all that hard in the first place. When others were already past that, I was busy perfecting the armor I had crafted from cardboard and some string.

My parents thought it was a coltish thing to do, so I had all the freedom in Equestria to let my mind wander, as long as school didn’t suffer, but after some time even they began to realize how fixated I was on it. For a short while they tried steering me into a different direction, to no avail. They soon accepted that in a household of brainiacs, I would stand out, which was a blessing in itself, as they asked me if I wanted to leave the regular school for the Junior Academy. You probably know the answer to that.

Years passed like days as I stood side by side with other colts who shared my dream and the countless tests and contests went by until only a few dozen of us remained by the time we entered the Senior Academy as stallions. There, our future in a golden armor was almost secured as we were made Equestrian Specialists. The name of that rank was and is a joke, by the way. A more accurate description might be an apprentice to an outgoing guard, since the guards’ time in service in limited by his age and fitness. Once the Captain of the Guards sees one of his subordinates getting past his prime, he assigns him one of the new recruits from the Senior Academy. So it was with me.

One of the perks of being an apprentice – I mean Specialist - is that you are given assignments all over the Royal Castle, Canterlot and, if you’re as eager as I was, even to other towns all over Equestria. On those trips I got to know some strange ponies that influenced my life in ways I never imagined and, most importantly, made observations that lead me on a path to exploration that got me where I am today. And to think that it all really started with nothing more than a random encounter.