Soldier of the Night

by Skyfire Storm

18. A Guard For A Day (Part I)

"What the hay do you mean you wish to get a better job, Storm?" asked Tornado, having just summoned Storm to his office. Storm sat at a large armchair in front of his desk, shivering slightly as he watched Tornado narrow his eyes onto him. It was a rare occasion he ended up in Tornado's office, but it was never for anything bad. This time, Storm was summoned for a pay raise; Tornado would pay him 5% more of what he payed him before as cloud checker, however, Storm decided to bring up either getting a new job or being moved to another department, just to get it out of his system. After his 'argument' with High Wind, it seemed like a good idea to ask to get moved to the Tornado Team, a.k.a. where High preferred him to work. Storm considered himself a competent enough flyer to join the Tornado Team, but deep down inside he didn't want to join. However, he was only doing this to impress his dad. And boy did it seem like a good idea at first, especially considering how much their usually positive father-son relationship deteriorated lately.

Ever since Storm became a cloud checker, Tornado begun to grow less and less harsh on him. It was almost as if Tornado was only harsh on the weather ponies who were actually working on the weather itself, and not the ponies whose responsibility was to check the weather for any signs of error. Storm's job involved checking out the clouds themselves for any signs of imperfection, and while that wasn't anything as exciting as charging raindrops with electricity or magic to produce thunder and lightning or pumping air into a cloud to produce wind, it did have good pay.

"Sir, I've been thinking about this for a while now..." said Storm, still shivering slightly. "I'm bored of weather pony work. I'm wanting to do something interesting in life."

"And don't you think being a weather pony is interesting?" asked Tornado, his eyes still being fixed on Storm.

"I do, but still..." fibbed Storm. "This wasn't something I was planning to do full-time, plus my cutie mark isn't...compatible with being a cloud checker."

"You have a cutie mark?" scoffed Tornado. "You have a cutie mark?!"

"Of course." deadpanned Storm. "I got it a week back."

"Let's see it." Tornado smirked. And so, Storm showed Tornado his shield-shaped cutie mark. Tornado's expression turned into a shocked one.

"How did you get it?" he asked.

"By protecting somepony." replied Storm.

"I see." said Tornado. "Well... I don't know what to say, Stormfire, aside from the fact that you're a lazy bum. But I still like you as one of my workers. Usually, an employee of mines who demands to be fired---"

"I'm not asking to be fired!" rebutted Storm. "I'm asking for you to consider moving me to the Tornado Team!"

"Silence!" growled Tornado. "Anyways...usually, an employee of mines who demands to be fired is fired on the spot...but you're an entirely different story...I'm going to suspend you for a week."

"Sir, you misunderst---What?" Storm's ears drooped.

"You heard me." smirked Tornado. "Until you learn to appreciate the value of hard work, don't come back til next Saturday. That's what you get for laziness, Stormfire. But you're still getting your pay raise. Next Saturday, instead of paying you 50 bits like I usually do, I'll pay you $52.50. Now, get outta my sight."

"Yes sir." Storm darted out of his office. After clocking out and leaving the factory, Storm walked across the streets of Cloudsdale towards home. He sighed in regret after what he had just told Tornado. He was now suspended for a week, and he needed to find something to do with his spare time. But most importantly, he needed to somehow tell his parents, especially his father, who'd probably be a lot more angry at him than after what happened after his trip to Canterlot.

He walked down the road leading to the north part of Cloudsdale, before turning left on a crossroad which led to his street. However, he didn't want to come home, not just yet, considering that High Wind was back and would probably question him to death about how his day at work went. Storm didn't want to bring up getting suspended from work, in case High'd get more angry. So, he took off into the air, and looked around North Cloudsdale, and something caught his eye; there was a building surrounded by Equestrian flags in the distance, a couple of blocks away from where he was currently at. Upon closer inspection, the building was in fact the new headquarters of the Royal Guard in Cloudsdale, which was built at least a couple months back after the roof of the old headquarters on the south side of town caved in after a large storm, and the building had to be demolished.

Without thinking twice, Storm flew over the homes and buildings of North Cloudsdale, not turning back, and landed in front of the building, which seemed even bigger from the ground than it seemed from the air. He looked around to see several guards walking back and forth in front of the building, before smiling respectfully at them and walking up to the front door of the building. The automatic door slid open and Storm stepped into the building, his mane being blown about by the air conditioning.

At the desk sat a Pegasus stallion, who was eating an apple and drinking some coffee out of a cup.

"How may I help you?" he asked, putting down what remained of the apple onto the desk.

"Well, can I enlist as a Guard?" asked Storm.

"Sorry, man. We can't recruit here; the nearest recruitment center is in Downtown, at the intersection of 38th Avenue and Cloudly Avenue, but that's undergoing renovations...so..." explained the stallion. "If you wanna recruit, you're gonna have to go to Canterlot."

"I see..." Storm sighed.

"But..." said the stallion. "What age are you?"

"Seventeen." replied Storm.

"I see." said the stallion, writing down Storm's details on a notepad. "Well, you're of the right age...so, how about we give you a taste of being a Royal Guard? We can show you where we patrol and what we do on a daily basis, and you can also learn some physical combat with other guards. So, when you graduate school, you'll be able to enlist. I'd imagine you're still in school, right?"

"I am." replied Storm.

"I'll have to call up the captain." explained the stallion. "Can you wait a couple of minutes?"

"Sure." replied Storm, going to sit next to a water cooler, and watching the stallion pick up the phone on his desk and dial the work number of the captain. A couple of minutes later, the door in front of where Storm was sitting opened, and a large behemoth of a stallion came towards Storm. He was wearing gold-plated armor, and his mane was covered by a massive golden helmet.

"Stormfire, am I right?" the massive Pegasus stallion sneered.

"Yes sir." Storm gulped.

"I hear you're interested in joining the Guard." the stallion grinned. "Allow me to introduce myself; my name is Firestarter, and I am the Captain of the Cloudsdale unit of the Royal Guard. Before we go any further with this, what's your age?"

"17, sir." replied Storm.

"Alright." Firestarter replied. "You want a taste of the Guard, huh?"

"Yes sir."

"Well then. Did your parents give you consent?" asked the Guard Captain.

"Yes sir..." Storm fibbed, knowing that only his mom really approved of him joining the Guard.

"Very well then." he replied. "Meet me here tomorrow morning, and I'll give you a taste of what it's like to be a Guard."

---

"Storm, where the hay were you?" asked Equinox, looking at her son, who was sitting on the couch, with disapproving eyes. Storm sighed in defeat, knowing that he couldn't lie to his own mother, before telling her the truth about where he was. "It's 4:32 PM. You were meant to be back an hour ago!"

"Mom..." begun Storm. "I was suspended."

"What?" she raised her eyebrows.

"I was suspended for a week..." groaned Storm. "So, I went to look for some other employment I may take up after graduating from school."

"Oh, Storm..." sighed Equinox. "I already told you that I'm perfectly fine with you joining the guard after you graduate, but I don't want you coming back home late. I was worried sick!"

"I'm sorry, mom." he sighed. "I won't do it again."

"Good..." replied Equinox. "What did the captain tell you?"

"He said I can come over tomorrow." begun Storm. "And they'll take me on patrols and show me what they do on a day-to-day basis."

"Storm..." sighed Equinox. "Just...don't tell your dad, alright? You know how he gets when you bring up something he doesn't like... I don't want the same thing that happened last week between you two happening again."

---

The next day...
After eating breakfast and saying goodbye to his family (including to his dad, whom Storm told that he is going to Blue's house), Storm made his way down to the headquarters of the Royal Guard near downtown Cloudsdale. He walked into the three-storey high building, and sat down where he sat yesterday, right in front of the reception desk, awaiting the Guard Captain to come.

A moment or two later, the door next to the reception desk opened up, and the captain stepped out. "Welcome. I'm glad you came." he smiled.

"It's a pleasure being here.." Storm stuttered.

"Alright." replied Firestarter. "So, you want to see first-hand what being a Royal Guard is like, eh? Well, you've come to the right place, but before we take you on a patrol, I'd like to give you a tour of the building. Follow me, please."

"Yes sir." replied Storm, getting up out of his seat and following the Guard captain through the open door. They walked down a long corridor, which led to a row of three elevators. However, just before they reached the three elevators, they turned right and walked down another long corridor, passing some off-duty guards, before turning left at an open door and walking into a large hall.

"Welcome to the briefing room, where Guards are briefed before they start work." explained Firestarter. Storm looked around the large hall; there were rows of chairs all facing a large screen. At the very back of the hall, stood a large table with a movie-sized projector on it. "This is where as a Royal Guard, you'll be briefed each morning, or as a Lunar Guard, if you choose to become one."

"A Lunar Guard?"

"Yep." replied Firestarter. "The Cloudsdale Lunar Guard is considered by many to be the best Lunar Guard unit in Equestria, myself included."

"Wait, why do you have a night unit of the Royal Guard?" asked Storm.

"Let me put it this way." begun Firestarter. "The Royal Guard is divided into two seperate entities; the Solar Guard, which patrols solely during daytime, and the Lunar Guard, which only patrols at night. Having two distinct divisions of the Guard allows us to get more done, and Lunar Guards are highly valued for their ninja-like stealth and speed. Why, you want to join?"

Maybe... "Not really." replied Storm. "I mean, I haven't even graduated yet."

"Yeah, I know." replied Firestarter. "Anyways, moving on..."

And so, Firestarter continued with his tour of the Royal Guard station; the next location they visited was the gym, which from Storm's point of view appeared bigger than his school's. He peered into the gym through a glass window, to see several treadmills, and two stallions lifting weights. However, what caught Storm's eye (and also intimidated him slightly) were two off-duty Royal Guards in the very back of the gym hall, wearing body armor and seemingly beating the ever-loving crud out of each other. However, there was no bloodshed, nor did the Guards seem to be hurting. In fact, they seemed to be enjoying it.

"You'll get involved in that later." grinned Firestarter.

"Sir?" Storm shuddered.

"Every future Guard needs to know how to defend himself in a fight." explained FIrestarter. "Don't worry, it's just sparring; nothing too serious. For the sparring exercise, we've paired you up with a young recruit from Canterlot, and by young I mean...The kid's fifteen."

"How did a fifteen year old manage to enlist?" asked Storm. "Isn't that a bit too young?"

"Well, from what I heard, he enlisted in May of last year, before current regulations came into effect." replied the captain. "Previous regulations allowed ponies as young as thirteen to join, but only work in part-time positions. From what I know, he joined as a coffee server, although I'm not entirely sure why he got recruited so early. The captain of the Canterlot Royal Guard, I'm not sure what his name is, had to either fire him and send him to live in an orphanage or had to place him in a special training program for younger Guards. And I think you know what he chose to do. All I can tell you is that rules and regulations in the Guard are more unpredictable than a sandstorm in the San Palomino..."

"Damn..."

"Yep. In fact, why don't you let him explain to you? The recruit is scheduled to arrive in two or three hours."

"When did you join?" asked Storm.

"I was seventeen, just like you." explained Firestarter. "After a particularly rough senior year, I dropped out and joined the Guard."

"Wow." was all Storm could say.

"And I've been proudly serving this country for the past twenty-three years." he explained, with a hint of pride in his voice. "Anyways, we should move on."

"Good idea."

---

After finishing the tour of the Guard station, which included visiting a massive swimming pool meant for trainee Guards and the barracks, Firestarter led Storm back to the briefing room, in which Royal Guards were beginning to gather. Storm looked around to see some of the guards turning to look at him, with rather questionable looks on their faces, before turning to see Firestarter, who motioned for Storm to sit beside the projector at the back.

"Alright, everypony." said Firestarter, walking up to the podium in front of the Guards. "Please, take a seat and allow me to explain what we're going to be doing today. But first of all, I'd like you all to sing the National Anthem."

And so, the Guards, who were still not wearing their armor, stood up out of their chairs and sung the National Anthem of Equestria, with Storm joining in near the very end. Even though he lived in Equestria since he was ten, Storm did not know the National Anthem off by heart, but knew one or two verses, unlike the Guards, who knew it all. After the Anthem had been sung, the Guards sat back down in their chairs and allowed Firestarter to continue. He had no idea why the guards were singing it, but he decided to keep it to himself.

"Alright." he begun. "Today, I want you to be split up into two groups. There's twenty-four of you here as of yet, so I want two groups of twelve."

"Yes sir!"

"Alright, each group will patrol a given section of town." explained Firestarter. "Valor?"

"Yes sir?" asked the pony named Valor, a tall, brown Pegasus stallion with a black mane.

"Your group will patrol the east side of our precinct; basically half of downtown." explained Firestarter.

"Yes sir!"

"Darkflame?" asked Firestarter.

"Yes sir?"

"I want your group to patrol the west side of downtown." said Firestarter. "Your patrol area will be from Cloudside Shopping Mall at the very western edge of the city to Cloud Bank Plaza. Also, I don't believe I've introduced somepony; Guards, this is Stormfire, and he'll be joining Valor's patrol group for today."

The Guards all turned to face Storm, an awkward grin forming on his reddened face. "Sir?" asked Valor.

"Yes?"

"Why is he here, if I may ask?"

"Stormfire seeks to join the guard after he graduates school. I figured it'd be a good idea to show him what we do here." explained Firestarter.

"Alright." replied Valor, turning to give Storm a friendly grin.

"Okay, Guards." said Firestarter. "Your shifts end at 1400 hours. Please go to the locker rooms and get yourselves ready. Once your shifts end, feel free to grab some lunch. After that, you'll be replaced with groups 3-4, who in turn, will be replaced by the Lunar Guard. The Privates are requested to attend a sparring session with the trainees between 1400 and 1500 hours, and that includes Storm."

"Yes sir!" the guards replied, including Storm.

"Alright, get goin'!" yelled Firestarter, motioning for the guards to walk out of the door. Storm followed after the guards, managing to catch up to Valor.

"So, you must be Storm." he smiled. "Nice to meet you. I'm Valor, and I am a Sergeant. So, you planning on joining full-time?"

"I'm wanting to." replied Storm. "What kind of stuff do you do here?"

"Well..." begun Valor. "We protect ponies from harm, and we serve our community."

"But how?"

"That's why you're here, isn't it?" asked Valor. "To find out how we operate."

"I guess..." replied Storm.

"Alright, boys." begun Valor. "Once you put on your armor, I want you all to move out in single-file lines."

"Yes sir!"

"Storm, you stick with me, alright?"

"Yes, sir." he replied, saluting Valor.

"I'll show you what it's like to be a Solar Guard." he grinned.

Author's Note:

Stay tuned for Part 2, everyone. I hope for it to be out soon enough.

Comments

[HolyCross9]

I was hoping that Tornado would be proud of Stormfire getting his cutie mark, yet I never expected him to suspend the former.

[SageBrony07]

Nice job with this chapter. I'm enjoying it. Good luck with the next one. I can't wait to see what a day in the guard is like.

[GalacticTNT]

Why is he following a day guard I thought he was going to be a 'Soldier of the Night.'
Ps. Great chapter can't wait for more!!!

[Skyfire Storm]

6041312 Don't worry. He will, in a later chapter.