Shield and Shadow Part 1: Rise and Fall

by LucidReverie

Chapter 4: Leading to the water

Hope.

Spring Mist awoke from his slumber feeling slightly groggier than normal. His night was fitful at best, filled with uncertainties and worrying dreams. The day would be too important, perhaps the only chance at achieving at least a part of his lifetime dream. Doubt filled his mind as he lay in bed, thinking of all the possible ways today could go wrong, how he could fail. Again. NO! He yelled internally, and quashed those memories before they could surface.

Mist quickly jumped from his bed and rushed to the bathroom, scrubbed himself down hastily in his wooden tub, splashing water all over the floor. I can clean that later, he thought to himself. He grabbed a brush with his magic and quickly ran it through his mane. He checked his reflection in the shiny bronze mirror, and decided that he was presentable. He headed into the main room of his house and looked around. He spotted an apple sitting on the large wooden table off to the side of the room and decided that would be his breakfast. Mist snatched it up with his magic and took a few bites as he trotted through the door.

After adjusting to the light, he saw that the streets were no more active today than they were yesterday. That would make it easy to get to the castle. Mist finished off his apple quickly and cantered through the streets. His mind screamed at him to gallop, charge though the town, but he had to keep his composure. He was still a guard, and the ponies of Everfree looked up to him to be stoic and calm, powerful, not giddy and excitable like a colt. That kind of behavior would paint the wrong image. It was his duty to remain calm and present himself admirably. Regardless of his external appearance, Spring Mist was a cacophony of feelings: excitement, fear, hope, worry.

Mist moved swiftly through the town, past his tower, past Clove’s eatery, past the market square, through the winding streets until he found himself at the entrance way to the castle.

The large gates were open, and the path to the main structure showed a few ponies milling about the front grounds of the castle gardens. Straight ahead was Mist’s destination: the entrance hall, its great doors the last obstacle in the way. Mist’s pace slowed noticeably, nerves overtaking his body, fear creeping up on him. He tried to take solace in the beauty of the gardens around him, the bushes and trees and flowers, the elegantly laid-out pathways, the sweet chirping of birds. None of these really helped ease his worries, but he continued on. He finally reached the doors of the entrance hall, and saw two guards keeping vigil.

Mist approached one, saying, “I’m… I’m here to… to… sign up for the Guard.”

The white Pegasus guard moved not an inch at first, but soon gestured with a wing to the doors. “Proceed into the hall and join the line,” He said succinctly.

Mist, uttered a nervous “Thank you”, and moved to the doors. He pushed slightly, and the door opened slowly. Taking a deep breath, he pushed the door open further and stepped into the entrance hall.

The entrance hall was a large room, decorated with the royal emblem and a few tapestries on the walls, statues in the corners, and some large urns filled with flowers. The floor was cut perfectly through the middle by an elegant crimson carpet that lead to a set of doors on the far end of the room, presumably into the grand hall and throne room. Those doors were closed however, and were blocked off by a long setup of tables. Then were three distinct groups of tables and each was marked with the colors and crests of their respective divisions of service. The tables on the far right held the familiar brown and green colors of the Town Guard, the middle tables sported the grey and powder blue of the military, and finally, the right tables colored in those of both sections of the Royal Guard: White and gold for Princess Celestia’s guards, black and blue for Princess Luna’s. This was Mist’s target.

Each group had representatives from each division sitting and taking in applications. Recruitment officers. Universally feared by any prospective applicant, for it was they who dictated whether or not a pony was even considered.

There were also lines at each table. The shortest was the Town Guard of course, as any new applicants could enlist at any time during the year. The line for the military was the longest, filled with young stallions aiming for glory as heroes of the kingdom. About as much glory could be found in the military as could be found in the night watch. The line for the Royal Guard wasn’t especially long, but the few ponies there were impressive. Large, powerfully built, intimidating. And definitely prime candidates for the Guard. Mist felt dwarfed by the ponies in front of him. He was neither especially big nor adept at magic, and he was certainly not intimidating. Mist’s nerves again began to creep up and attempt to seize control of his body.

The line was slowly shrinking, each candidate being led into a room just off to the side.

The wait was not too long, and Mist found that he was right in front of the recruitment officer, a quill poised over a piece of parchment.

“Name?” asked the officer tersely.

“Um… Spring Mist, ser.”

“Type?”

“Unicorn.”

“Occupation?”

“Local Peacekeeping. Night watch.”

At that, the officer raised an eyebrow, but soon recovered. “Fine. Take this form to the guard at the door,” he said, motioning toward the door to the side room.

Mist grasped the parchment in his magic and walked over to the guard at the door. There he presented the form. Another raised eyebrow later, and Mist was lead into the room.

The door closed behind him, and Mist focused on the room in front of him. It had been divided into multiple sections by cloth screens, wherein were the applicants. Ah, Mist thought, Medical examination.

“Hello,” greeted a small, white unicorn pony, “Please follow me.”

Mist followed the pink-maned pony to one of the private sections of the room and took a seat on the makeshift bed there.

“Thank you, Nurse…” Mist began.

“Youngheart,” she finished with a smile.

“Youngheart,” Mist repeated with a nod.

The nurse pony then closed off the cubicle and walked off, leaving Mist to his own thoughts. Soon after, a taller earth pony in medical fatigues walked into the space and immediately began taking notes. He gave a few glances at Mist and continued writing. Finally he said, “Stand.”

Mist complied without a word. The medical pony pulled out a tape measure and began recording various lengths of Mist’s body: hoof size, horn size, hoof to shoulder, flank to muzzle. He then instructed Spring Mist to stand on a scale and recorded his weight.

Next were basic physical tests, trotting in place, jumping, crouching, and lifting weighted objects both with magic and without.

Breathing and heart rate were tested. Mist was familiar with all of these examinations, having gone through them multiple times as part of the town guard. The organization may not be cream of the crop, but they did like to keep their guardsponies healthy.

He finished up his notes and sealed them in a scroll case. “Well, you pass the health testing, and your magic use is sound,” began the medical pony, “And you pass the basic physical requirements, though barely.”

Mist’s ears dropped slightly at that, fears welling up inside him. Sensing his discomfort, the medical pony continued, “Well, if you can still impress them in the interview phase, it may make up for what you lack in muscle. But it will have to be incredibly impressive, if only because of who your first interviewers will be. You can go through the door at the end of the room when you are ready, your file will be there when you arrive.” He began walking out of the cubicle.

“Wait. Who are my interviewers?” Mist asked, confused.

The medical pony stopped, wearing an expression both grim and amused. “Well, of course there is the Guard Captain. He usually has say over who makes it. But this set of enlistments is interesting,” He began walking again, “Before you can get to the Captain, you have to get through the Princesses.”

Oh no.

Comments

[Material Defender]

Ohoho, I wonder what will happen next...