32. A Fine New Life
Prancing along the battlements of the palace walls was kind of my thing. They were mine, after all. Well, mine for one shift out of three, four times a week. Still, mine! The walls and the gift shop. I was their sentinel! I was all that stood between rampaging grandmothers, curious foals, and the occasional angry critter and the princesses.
Okay, so it was actually me and my entire section… and then all the guards actually inside the palace. Plus, the house guards. Fine, there were a lot of ponies between the grannies and the princesses.
That didn’t matter, though! I was Lieutenant Sunny Day and I liked it! I liked it a lot. This is what I’d always wanted. Not being some pin-up filly. Although I certainly didn’t mind looking at pin-up fillies! It was just weird seeing my flank on a calendar.
Weird for me, anyway. Celestia knows I’d looked at my share of pin-up fillies. I was really curious to see who would be in the next C.O.C. I’m sure they’d find some ponies that were glamorous. Either way, it wasn’t my problem anymore; I just had to pay the bits.
I set my forehooves on the battlement and peered out into the city. It looked pretty quiet. Like always. That wasn’t a bad thing. All of the more adventurous stuff took place in less civilized towns.
The word around the palace was that Ponyville was starting to be pretty interesting. It was close to the Everfree Forest and all kinds of monsters lived there. In the past, they’d mostly been content to stay in the forest but, for whatever reason, they’d started roaming into town. The Royal Guard would then have to chase them out and relocate them.
Strange times! Of course, in general, it was all harmless. It did make things interesting for those guards, though. Thus far, nothing exciting had happened to me or my guards. Other than that pegasus foal with the sniffles. He sneezed so hard he flew right past our perimeter.
Poor little fella. All of those scary pegasus gua— “Lieutenant, how is the view?” came a familiar voice from behind me.
With my musings interrupted, I hurriedly turned around and straightened to attention. “It’s wonderful, sir!”
Captain Armor nodded and smiled. He had a great smile and a hot body! There was a lot of muscle under all of that white. It was a shame he was dating Lady Cadence. Or was it… I wonder if she was into mares?
“Isn’t it always? This is one of the best views ever. Although the towers are pretty great, too. Cadence and I hang out up there sometimes. You should check it out.”
Is he coming on to me? No, you’re reading too much into that invite, Sunny!
“So, you’ve been here about two months now. I’m pleased with your performance. How are you liking the role? Is it the reward you were hoping for?”
“Yup, yes, for sure! I love it, sir! I’m a palace guard. I’ve got a section of palace guards. I get to hang out on the wall and have a great view. What pony wouldn’t like that?”
“Good, glad to hear that. We’ve had a lot of new faces here rather suddenly. I’m just trying to make certain they’re all fitting in. We do have some flexibility, after all. That is kind of a new thing to the palace.
“It has been a whirlwind around here after such a long time without change. I guess that is how it works, though. Everything remains the same for a while and then you have to shake it up.”
“Yes, sir!” Okay, now I know he is coming onto me. Everything remains the same? Shake it up? Is this going to turn into the threesome of my dreams? I’ve been eyeing that little pink unicorn since the moment she trotted her heart-stamped flank by me in the gym!
His tone shifted to a bit more serious. “I want to ask you something.”
Yes! Yes! Oh, absolutely yes! “Yes!” Ease up, filly. I cleared my throat, “I mean, yes, sir!”
He waved a hoof in a circle. “That night you found Princess Celestia, you said you could see… what was it, a dark mist?”
Nooo! Business? He wanted to talk about business? He gets me all worked up and he wants to talk about mist? When I got off work, I was going to have to go find Soarin or Diddle or both and show them what a frustrated Sunny looks like! Where was Soarin right now, anyway? On tour somewhere. Bleh.
Okay, so he wanted to have a serious conversation. That kind of ruined the mood and the view. I nodded. “Yes, sir. A cloud of some sorts. Dark blues, purples, and evil twinkles. Felt like someone rubbing ice on your face. Pretty nasty stuff. Why?”
The captain cleared his throat. “You don’t still see it do you?”
I blinked. “Not like that night, no. I mean… sometimes I think I see little wisps of it now and then, but it’s hard to be sure and I have to really be concentrating. It is probably just my imagination.
“Thankfully, it was all gone when I woke up! Just blue skies and happy little trees. Believe me, if I still saw it, you’d know. Plus, ponies would be doing weird things. Abnormal things!”
He nodded. “Yeah… but then again, perhaps there is a less obvious version? Who knows? Either way, it is good that you don’t see it. If you do, however, you’ll let me know, right?”
Not after blocking me out of your threesome! Fine. “Yes, sir! Now that I know that you’re looking for it, I’ll be diligent. I’ll do my part, don’t worry.”
“Good mare.” His attention shifted to the courtyard below. “Ah, my next meeting.”
Princess Luna was walking toward the palace. She had a single house guard trailing along behind her. The big white and blue stallion. Silent something. Rumor had it she’d just walked off grounds earlier in the day right before we’d come on shift.
“Going to go wag a hoof at the princess?” I asked.
Captain Armor chuckled and shook his head. “No, I don’t think this little act of rebellion is worthy of hoof wagging. I’m going to go talk to the guard on duty, though.”
Ah, that poor pony. He’d broken protocol by letting her leave the palace unannounced and without a proper escort. Wouldn’t want to be in his hoofguards! Well… I mean I would. They were big hoofguards which meant big—
“Have a good day, Lieutenant,” Shining Armor said while casually saluting.
I saluted the Captain in return and he trotted off. That meant I could go back to peering off the wall and planning this evening’s festivities. Perhaps somepony would ask me out? Say Yes More Sunny! That was me.
Although, for now, the view would do fine. Canterlot was a beautiful, sparkling city on a hill. A paradise by comparison to a lot of places. I was lucky to live and work here. Even luckier to own a home here and have friends that loved me. My mother had been right to send me. She was a smart cookie.
All told, the thing that made this particular view so sweet was that I could see everything important to me every day I worked. If I looked inward, almost every one of my guards were visible from here. I knew they were doing their jobs and that they were safe. From here, I could protect them.
If I looked outward, I could just make out the Mare Contraire in between some of the taller buildings. That is where Dolly and most of my friends were. If anything ever happened, I knew I could get there quick to handle any situation.
Finally, I could even see my new condo. It was all mine! Dolly and Mom and helped me negotiate the price down and move in. And the club that was going to be built under it? The neighborhood board hadn’t approved it! Instead, I’d gotten a yoga studio. How about that!
Every morning when I went to work, I could look in the glass window and see a bunch of tight pony rumps looking back at me as they practiced their downward facing puppy. The universe was truly looking out for me.
For so long, I’d floundered through my life and career, not really sure what I wanted. Now I finally had direction, purpose, and a stunning set of armor that really helped me pick up mares and stallions. It amazed me how often ‘Excuse me, miss, I’m going to have to arrest you.’ ‘Oh my! Why?’ ‘For stealing all of my attention.’ worked.
Mmm, I should totally go to the Mare tonight.
“Good thoughts, Lieutenant?”
I turned and bowed low. The princess’s voice was unmistakable. Radiant Orchid and another House Guard were off behind her.
“Yes, ma’am. This is my favorite spot in the world. What brings you out to my wall?”
Princess Celestia’s brow raised. “Your wall? I was under the impression this was my wall.”
“I see! You’ve got the whole kingdom and you’re really going to cheap out and not allow me to have at least one little wall?”
The princess softly chuckled and set her forehooves on the battlement. “Oh, Sunny…” Then she looked down at me quite seriously. “Of course I am. This is my wall. Build your own.”
That… that was unexpected. She was kidding, right? My mouth hung open as I tried to figure out what to say in response.
Finally, she started giggling. “Gotcha. You’re pleased with your life, then?”
I waved a hoof at her. “You did. I am. I was just telling Captain Armor the same. This is great. Thank you so much for arranging this.”
“Well, it was the least I could do for one of my top students.”
“My grades were horrible.”
“One of my average students,” she amended.
“Well, I appreciate it.”
We fell silent, just looking out across Equestria. I’d been told that the princess had a fondness for doing that. She kept telescopes in the towers just to look over her wonderful kingdom.
Silence isn’t really my thing, though, so I pointed a hoof at my condo. “I live there.”
“Oh? It looks lovely.” She then pointed a hoof at the palace. “I live there.”
We giggled at that together.
“Princess! Princess!” a voice called, getting closer with each repetition.
“Duty calls,” Princess Celestia said with a huff. “See you around. I just know you’re going to do great things.”
I bowed and smiled. “Thank you, Princess, enjoy your afternoon.”
The regal alicorn turned and left to meet the pony hurrying her way. It was her assistant. I’m sure they had somewhere important to be.
I, on the other hoof, got paid to stand right here and look at the world going by. That filled me with happiness. So much so that marching on patrol like normal wasn’t enough. There had to be a bit more flare to it for me.
That is why I had to prance. Nothing did any better to sum up who I was and who I’d always be: the pony that wasn’t supposed to graduate from school and somehow ended up as an officer in the Palace Guard.
All it took was a few great friends, a mentor or two, and an attitude that I’d never give up no matter what. Princess Celestia said I was going to do great things. Greater than I already had? From anypony else that would be hard to believe, but when she said it, it felt like fact. That is why I decided to keep working hard and never let her down.
That is who I am: the pony that never gives up and always puts one hoof in front of the other.
It has been a blast writing this story and it went a whole lot longer than I thought it would! There is a lot more for Sunny but this one has reached the end. We'll see about the future though!
If you are enjoying this story, please consider taking a look at Crystal and my's website QuillnBlade.com for extra content such as mini stories, an Ask Us form to submit questions, responses to said questions, and special rewards for the awesome folks who support our Patreon.
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It's nice to have a connection with your superiors, makes things feel less forced or awkward.
Sad to see it end but it was a wonderful read.
Nooooo. I still want more. Anzel, you cruel being!
But it's a nice wrapping chapter.
This chapter was great, but this really made me laugh.
I really like seeing another side of the throne; playful princesses. I also find Celestia-Sunny's relationship quite similar to Luna-Silent's.
7429568
Couldn't agree more.
You will never change, Sunny Day, will you?
:he sighs and smiles: Perhaps the universe shall be better that way after all.
A very gracious, lighter story. Although it was not entirely my thing, I enjoyed it a lot. It only shows that a skillful writer can engage the readers even when the tale is not sharing all of their interests. Carry on, Anzel. And congratulations on finishing the story!
Which story would be next in line in Quill and Blade universe?
Sad to see this end, but happy to see that it ended right. At least we can still see everypony in the other works, so thanks for the fun times here and see you around Sunny.
One of the few instances where the sequel is even better than the original!
I'm happy there was prancing!
7429609 This is exactly what the author intended, for us to draw parallels. Good author!
Aww... I was hoping to see how she came to join 'Tia's House Guard!
and thus another amazing story comes to an end, but where one door closes more will open. looking forward to your next adventure.
I'm going to repeat myself but you write a wonderful Celestia. Coupled with The Best Q&B Pony™ it's just one my favourite chapters! It's sad to see this story end but I look forward to a sequel one day.
...and who makes guard armor look good.
...and who puts the service in customer service.
...and who keeps the palace off the straight and narrow.
...and who put the hip wiggle in the guard handbook.
...and who-
Okay, okay, I'll stop!
(Is it bad that I'm rooting for SunnyXCadanceXShiny? According to the Shipfic Cards, Shiny definitely approves of this experiment. So we only need one more on board!)
Good story. Left wanting more. Please?
Very nice ending to this. It will be fun to see future stories to find out how she becomes head of Celestia's house guard.
Nooooo! It's over! When's the next book?
NOOOO this was one of my favorites.. its sad to see it over, but its a good stopping point. Love how far Sunny has came. Ive enjoyed this story thoroughly. Cant wait for the next story!
7429492 This is true!
7429497 I'm really glad you enjoyed it. I enjoyed writing Sunny as the main focus. She's a lot of fun for me! Don't be sad though, we'll see more Sunny!
7429521 We'll see more Sunny, don't worry. She's not going anywhere :D
7429568 Thankyou =D I thought that would be funny for Celestia. Plus she interacts with Sunny in her own way ^_^
7429609 That relationship rapport is intended. Luna and Silent have one style while Sunny and Celestia have a different one. At the same time, the closeness and casual bit is similar. :D
7429709 Sunny is Sunny! Young or older :D I'm glad you liked it!
7429767 Well, timeline-wise, this story is the very first story. It ends right as Memoirs of a Royal Guard is starting.
7429776 Yeah, very happy ending! Sunny will still be around :D She's everywhere!
7429876 *gasp* But what was the original!
7429901 There is a ton of prancing! TONS of prancing.
7429903
7429927 Well, we kind of do actually. Day's ends with her being a palace guard officer known to Shining Armor and Princess Celestia. In Memoirs we see who she replaces and why. I might do a little more on that at some point but its mostly there.
7429967 Azubites!
7430279 Thank you. I rarely like to engage in ego but I like my Celestia too haha >_< Thank you thank you!
7430646 You just need to get Sunny a Shipfic card!
7430822 One day, one day! She might get a second story or it will be a mini-fiction.
7430880 In truth there isn't a ton to tell there. Going to sneak from above: Day's ends with her being a palace guard officer known to Shining Armor and Princess Celestia. In Memoirs we see who she replaces and why.
7431134 The next Sunny story or literally the next hardcover? Next Sunny story isn't on the schedule yet. Azu gets a turn next. Next hardcover is before Christmas!
7431360 Huzzah! I'm really glad you enjoyed it =D
7433284
What's the —
!
Oh! F-forget I said anything! There is no sequel! Never was! Definitely no mirror world with a sequel!
Deuces!
I mean there's definitely no sequel in a mirror world!
Double deuces!
7433284 I don't actually have any of your hardcovers, though if I could get all of them at once, including Crystal's, I'd be down for that.
Calm down, Sunny.
You know, this conversation about the mists reminds me of some thoughts I had on them and on Sunny's new position. I'm really glad that this phase of her life was just a somewhat random guard assignment in the castle, and not directly to Celestia's house guard. It makes sense that Celestia would want to keep a pony with Sunny's dark magic sensing ability around, but that's accomplished with just the castle assignment. Presumably, whatever happens between now and then for her promotions is based on her actions and trained abilities, as opposed to on just some inherent ability that comes with her as a package deal.
A yoga studio instead of a loud nightclub? Now there's a difference.
Hah!
Heh.
Great ending to a fun story.
YAY!
Darn, out of reading material again. -_-
Great ending.
With the new cover art, the black and green on Sunny's shirt, and the star pattern, makes it look like Achievement Hunter.
Tell me I'm not the only one to think that.
8093078 ... It was a joke.
7433284
In 'Golden Opportunity', Shining is a Colonel, while he is a Captain in 'A Fine New Life'.
8235709
So true! So in Q&B Shining Armor's rank is Colonel. His position is Captain of the Canterlot Guard.
8680309 I have to be honest, that is one of my favorite stupid jokes.
A great and heartwarming story. I’m glad I was
orderedsuggested to read it. I enjoyed it greatly.9251094
Thank you very much!
I really enjoyed this. It was a great time and I look forward to the completion of the next to read it as well.
9725337 Thank you!
10203540
Thank you ^_^
One re-read later, and I still consider this story the best of all your stories. I love it! Sunny Day is best
Q&B pony!
10434073 Thank you! Glad you enjoyed the story again.
Since I'd found Memoirs in January of last year I'd been coming back to the main guard trilogy, and since then I've started the tradition of reading it every year. After I finished reading back through this year I decided to read the spin off stuff, oh man I loved it. Can't wait to read the sequel too. Honestly, I reckon I could say your work is my favorite literature I've had the pleasure of actually taking the time to read.
Damn funny too.
this is one of my favorite stories on this site. i keep coming back to reread it, its very comforting and inspiring! plus i just love Sunny, i want to be confident like her one day
Should I read it before, or can I just start with the first story that the links provide?
Too much filly fooling. Everything else was interesting, though.