Memoirs of A Guard

by TheWingman

Entries 2-4

Author's Note:

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Saturday, September 6, 1009 ESY

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Mother of my… mother, my hooves are aching like mad. We just did this long hike through the neighboring woods and it was brutal. Never were we offered any sort of break. From what Ol’ Piss and Vinegar himself said, “I will run you apes ragged to see what you’re made of or make you run home to mommy!” Though the weather was mild for early fall, that didn’t help much. At the end, I just felt like I was way past spent. I’m certainly starting to see why the RG were built to be tougher than nails.

One of the senior recruits, Burgundy Meadow I think his name was, he got into a shouting match with Steelhoof. I don’t know what exactly was said but from what I’ve heard, the argument soon devolved into blows. I saw him being restrained by the MPs and carted off. Last I’ve heard, he was kicked out earlier tonight. Talk about a real bad attitude problem.

Well, tomorrow is combat training. From what was hinted, I could be going up against one of my bunkmates. If it turns out to be Redwell, he’s going to have to explain a potential black eye to his marefriend. He goes on and on about her; Talk about a romantic, proposing to her after graduating and what not. But hey, if all goes well, we’ll be his best stallions at the altar with him. We’re all brothers here.

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Sunday, September 7, 1009 ESY

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So, today started our combat training regimen. After our daily dose of PT and some chow, we all assembled at a place called “The Ring”. It was an area filled with various dummies and targets with a small octagonal arena in the center. For most of the time, we trained on the dummies with real spears, ACTUAL WEAPONS. Like a manticore on the prowl, Steelhoof came by to ensure our form and technique were to his standards. Anything less is met with a smack from his baton. Sometimes, he can be a total hardass.

When it came time to practice against each other, we were all pared against our fellow barracks mates. I thought I was going to fight Redwell but it wound up being Buckwheat instead. Like any earth pony, he’s as tough as they come. But… he was no slouch either. He came at me so quickly that I barely had time to react and get into defensive posture. For a while, I was on the defense before I knew what to do. As he was about to tire out, I struck him in the face, knocking him flat on his flank. I won and he walked it off with a chipped tooth to show. In the end, he was a good sport and we’ve even had a laugh about it.

Well, tomorrow in military history, I’ll be learning about the tactics of Commander Hurricane. Looking forward to that.

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Thursday, September 11, 1009 ESY

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As far as things were concerned, nothing of note happened today. It was all just the standard PT and weapons training regimen. But, I’ve been having this dream of what happened in the past.

Before I got sent off to here, I’ve been asking my mom about wanting to participate in the royal court the same way she does, wanting to see what it was like for myself. Each and every time, it was always met with a firm “no”. She never explained why and every time it made me angry. Even I yelled at her one time for it. Though we eventually made up for it, I would feel the guilt of it again a year before I turned eighteen.

I remembered I was trotting around, seeing to my subjects and greeting them. As I entered the western courtyard, I came across Chancellor Darius, one of my moms top advisers. Whenever I saw them talk, they looked to be friendly with each other. However, I didn’t know exactly why but I felt I couldn’t trust him.

The second he saw me, he approached me with his usual demeanor but different. We exchanged a few pleasantries before he asked why a prince like me hasn’t enjoyed the privileges of participating in the court. Telling him why, he made a few rather… rude remarks about my heritage. He called me things such as a “nopony”, “dirt-blooded” and “a peasant”. In that moment, I felt hurt and angered by his remarks. It really dealt a blow to my heart. It was then he tried to coerce me into helping him with a coup, hoping to use my supposed anger towards Celestia as persuasion. However, deep down, I always knew that she loved me very much and nothing was going to change that, even the words of a devious snake.

Declining his offer, he attempted to get physical with me along with another swath of insults. The only reason neither of us got even a scratch was the intervention of Abacus, another chancellor. Though strict and a bit cold at times, she was the wisest of the court members. After telling Darius to back off, she made sure I was fine. Darius was arrested after Abacus informed my mother of what happened. Last I’ve heard, he was sent to Tartarus for his crimes. Looking back on it now, I could see that there was wisdom to my mother’s madness. A chancellor tried to use me to usurp the throne for his own aims. Thinking more about it, he probably would’ve cast me aside the moment he got what he wanted. She was right. She was trying to protect me from that danger…

...and she succeeded.

Thank you, mom.