”Snow, snow, and more snow! You said you wanted to show me something special but that’s all I’m seeing right now!”
“Have patience my little jewel, there’s so much more to what’s out there than just snow, you just have to know where to look.
I galloped through the halls of the palace while frantically looking around for the briefing room. Of all the days I could’ve overslept why did I have to do it today. The last thing I needed was a bad first impression with whoever I was being assigned to work with and for, yet here I was nearly 20 minutes late for it.
Ignoring the growing pain in my right foreleg and the strange look a pair of patrolling guards gave me I continued galloping through the halls while glancing at the small silver nameplates by the gilded doors, mumbling their names while hoping to find the right room in the palace that still confounded me with all its twists and turns.
“Storage Room 4... General Purpose Briefing Room... Lunar Gua-" I scrambled to a stop as quickly as I could from my gallop and trotted back towards the room that I had passed. I stopped at the door before forcing myself to take some deep breaths to stop my panting. The least I could do was come in not looking like I had just run around the entirety of the Royal Training Grounds, twice. I re-fitted the badge denoting my rank attached to the crest of my chestplate to make sure it wasn't crooked and pushed the door open, readying myself to face the scathing looks I would be receiving for being so tardy.
What I got instead was a curious look from the only pony currently in the room, a thestral lunar guardsmare who was currently casually sitting down by the briefing table. The illusion enchantment and gemstone present in the armor of the Lunar Guard giving nothing away about who she actually was other than that she was a Lunar Adept as she gave me a cheery smile while I made sure to stare a bit above her.
"A Day Guard Recruit? I had thought it a myth that there were even any of you left in Canterlot that wasn't indisposed or worse currently. I do believe you are in the wrong place though as much as it is a wonder to see one of you."
I bristled slightly at her words but I didn't have time to get annoyed at her. I was obviously in the wrong place and right now I needed to get to the meeting as quickly as I could. Even if it did mean I'd have to be respectful to a thestral who was still up for whatever reason.
"My apologies adept, I seem to have gotten turned around at some point." I deftly pulled out the papers detailing the meeting from the saddlebags resting on my armor and took a second look at them. "Might you know where the General Purpose..." I stared at the letter for a moment before stepping back and looking back towards the nameplate by the door.
It read clear as day the same room the paper did.
The adept snorted in amusement. "So you are in the right place recruit. Early but in the right place."
I blinked in shock while my eyes scanned the paper. "Early? But I'm late!" I looked towards the clock in the room and saw that I was indeed late.
"You're looking at the wrong side of the paper. Only the Moon knows why they put the time of the first meeting on the front, but the date on the back, alongside other potential dates and times for the future. You'd think they were purposefully trying to make this annoying to read just because they could."
A bolt of both relief and trepidation shot through me at her words when I saw that she was indeed correct. My tail, which I hadn't realized had been swishing calmed down somewhat at it. Relief that I wasn't actually late and was simply early, more so than I originally planned but still early. And trepidation at the fact that unless she just happened to both know of the meeting and was here at random that I was going to be working with a thestral.
Carefully putting the paper back in my saddlebags I closed the door and entered the room proper before taking a seat at the table opposite of the Adept. If we were to be working together I might as well be courteous, though I avoided her eyes. "So, I suppose we are to be working together then?"
"Suppose? Hah! I'd be surprised if we weren't. Though I am even more curious than I was before on who exactly we're working for if the other mystery partners are going to be as surprising as you. Or if you’re going to be the only one." She smiled her fanged smile at me now as she sat up properly now and leaned a little bit closer towards me. "Not many of the Day Guard actually made it through the invasion, much less actual recruits. What's your story?"
I leaned back a little in turn, uncomfortable with her getting closer. "My story?"
"Yep, your story. Unless of course, you weren't actually here for the invasion."
Her words sparked memories that flew by me while I thought of what I had been doing during the invasion and I shuddered. "Of course I was here during it! I'd... I'd just rather not talk about my time during it. I had to do many things I don't think I was exactly ready for." I took a deep breath after I said it. I knew when I joined the guard that it might happen but... that day and week after was supposed to be a time of happiness for all of Equestria. Not... not that terrible invasion.
She gave me a solemn nod of understanding that surprised me, something I hadn't expected from the thestral. "Ah, I can respect that, must've been especially hard on you considering you're still a recruit. I won't go into details but I ended up leading a smaller squad as its acting captain for a long while, clearing out what we could before Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor managed to banish all the changelings in Canterlot on the final day. It was quite the inspiring sight seeing all those damn bugs get flung away after we'd been fighting them for nearly a week. Certainly wish they hadn't chosen then of all times to come and try their luck but if it came down to it I was going to protect my new home to the best of my ability. And that’s what I did.”
I stared around her while she told the small bit of her own story and realized that I had just shared with her something I hadn't meant to at all. I frowned at the realization. She had gotten that out of me so easily too, I was going to have to watch myself a little closer to make sure I didn't share anything else I didn't want to.
"You know, just because I have fangs doesn't mean I'm going to bite." She said suddenly frowning, catching me off guard.
"Huh?"
"I can clearly see how you're looking at me. J-"
Before she could finish what she was about to say the door opened without any warning, a unicorn stallion with the regal armor of a Solar Guard and the classic disguise for them marched in. The badge shining on his armor though clearly denoting his rank as some sort of specialist while he walked inside the room, closing the door behind him with a simple flicker of his magic. He gazed over at the adept first than me before scoffing and grumbling something very quietly to himself that I didn't catch before heading over to take a seat all the way at the other edge of the table.
The thestral though seemed to have heard what he said though, her ear twitching before her frown deepened speaking a moment after. "You know, the chances are pretty high we're all going to be working together soon enough. You might not think much of either of us but we've been picked to serve whoever we're going to be for a reason."
The unicorn shot a glare towards her. "Doesn't mean I have to think it's smart, bat. And a recruit too? Whoever it is must be desperate for anypony at all to serve if they’re taking the both of you."
My ears folded back a bit at his words while the thestral only glared back at him. "Aren't you going to be a joy to work with." She glared at him for another moment before shifting her leathery wings a bit, sighing while she turned back towards me and fixed me with a look I couldn't quite place nor want to. Not particularly wanting to stare into her slitted eyes I looked up towards the clock above her. Another half-hour until the meeting time. Stars, how had I ended up so much earlier than I'd intended, and with partners like these two.
She let out a sigh a moment after and looked like she was about to say something before glancing over at the specialist and stopping, her tail agitatedly flicking about before she simply put her head against the table.
It was a long and painful wait in near silence until the door opened again, this time gently pushed open by a slender pink hoof.
"Know where to look?! Where can I look that isn't just snow? If there's something special out here like you said, shouldn't it be obvious?"
"Rarely will the special things in life be. But in time I know you will find it. I can feel it."
In the instant the door began to open my ear twitched and my attention was on it and whoever would be coming in. Likewise the thestral across from me sat up to attention the moment the click of the door occurred and I even heard slight shuffling coming from the unicorn all the way at the edge of the table. None of us were ready for who it was that came in.
The lightish pink of her foreleg was what I spotted first before I inadvertently let out a gasp when I saw the gleam of the beautiful filigree on her hooves and neck. There was no way...
Princess Cadance strode in while closing the door behind her with her magic, her posture both regal and graceful at the same time. She had a soft smile on her muzzle as she stood there for a moment taking us in before she spoke.
"Greetings good guardsponies! It is a pleasure to make all of your acquaintances today. I'm quite sure from recent events you already know who I am but it would be impolite to not introduce myself anyways." She gave a little bow to us despite the fact of who she was, putting me into more of a stupor than I already was from when I saw her. "I am Princess Cadance, though while we are in private I would prefer you simply call me Cadance. Might I ask you all to introduce yourselves to me in turn?"
There was a second of silence before there was the slight scraping of the chair behind me, drawing my attention away from Princess Cadance to the unicorn standing and saluting towards her now. "Specialist of the esteemed Solar Guard, reporting for duty Princess."
The thestral across from me seemed ready to do the same as him while I was still trying to gather my thoughts about what was happening when the Princess giggled before speaking again. "Hehe, I did not mean the normal formal greetings of the guard good specialist, though I suppose I am at fault for not making that part clear initially." She raised her hoof and swept it across the room at us. "I meant you all as ponies. It would not do for me and Shining Armor's personal guards to be nameless faces to us and everypony else."
Her words caused my eyes to widen and I unintentionally breathed out, "Your personal guards?"
Her soft gaze and smile turned to me now, nodding to me and causing my tail to snap straight when I realized I had spoken without having intended to. "Our personal guards indeed. And you need not worry about any wandering ears learning who you are. The privacy wards in the room are currently active at the moment so nopony outside this room will hear."
My thoughts raced and I could scarcely focus. We were to be the personal guards of the saviors of Canterlot. Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor whose love had been so strong that it had completely turned the tables on the changelings and banished just about all of them from the city, ending the invasion. They were heroes and royalty and we were to be their personal guards. I, a recruit from only just a month ago was going to be one of their personal guards.
While I was still trying to wrap my head around what was happening the thestral across from me was seemingly having far less trouble as she stood from her seat before taking off her helmet with a deft movement of her wing, bringing it to her side. The illusion spell within it fading from her, a deep dark purple quickly overtaking the rest of her coat and wings while long dark blue hair spilled out from her helmet and overtook her tail as well. She gave the princess a short salute before assuming a relaxed posture and smiling. "Adept Flowing Moon of the Lunar Guard. It is a pleasure to meet you Cadance."
Princess Cadance's smile seemed to widen a bit at Flowing Moon after she introduced herself. "And it is a pleasure to meet you as well Flowing Moon." She turned towards the specialist who was looking between the two of them. "And what might your name be specialist?"
He stared at her for a moment before responding with a very neutral look on his face. "Guardponies aren't supposed to reveal their identities, not even to their charges if assigned to one. It is done in order to make it far harder to target the private lives of whomever they might be."
The princess hummed in thought. "Hmm, you do have a point. The only ponies in the guard who are supposed to have their identities public are those in leadership positions such as my Shining Armor. But, I would much prefer to know who might our personal guards be. If you still do not wish to share your identity I will not push specialist. Though in the wake of the changelings who have proven they could very easily slip into the role of anypony, even simply knowing your identity would mean that it would be far harder for any that might still linger to impersonate any one of you and succeed."
The specialist sat silent for another moment with a frown on his face before his horn began to glow and race over his helmet before he levitated it off and into the crook of one of his forelegs. In an instant, the illusion spell over him began to fade just like it did with Flowing Moon. His gray fur shifted towards a lighter brown while short fiery orange hair took over his mane and tail. "Specialist Sunlance of the Solar Guard, Princess Cadance."
"A pleasure to meet you Sunlance." She gave him a nod in thanks before turning towards me and fixing me once again with her gentle gaze. "Now may I ask for your name recruit?"
I did my best to shove down my nerves before I spoke. The situation was still so surreal, but that was no excuse to freeze up. I took a deep breath before taking off my helmet with a forehoof, setting it on the table in front of me. The moment it came off my own fur shifted from the pearly white of the Day Guard illusion to my own snowy white color. My longer mane spilled forth from my helmet and outwards as it shifted from a royal blue to a nearly solid turquoise with the occasional emerald stripe cutting through it. "R-recruit Feather Hoof of the Day Guard, reporting for duty Princess."
It felt like an eternity while I waited for her response even though in reality it had only been a second. I was more aware now than ever of the discrepancy between my rank and the other guards. Not only were the Lunar Guard and Solar Guard considered elite compared to the Day Guard and Night Guard, but they were also both higher ranking members of their respective guards. Nearly at leadership positions themselves and with almost certainly more experience than my meager month of service. The only real thing I'd done was hold out with some civilians for the duration of the invasion. And yet here I was being chosen to guard Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor alongside them. There was no way there wasn't a discrepancy, no way that they had accidentally sent the papers to me instead of somepony else. And I was now just waiting for her to call it out.
Instead, her gentle smile stayed as she nodded her head as a bit of recognition flooded her eyes. "A pleasure to meet you Feather Hoof. I remember reading a bit about your heroics during the invasion. I can only hope you should show that same valor in your time with us as you did then." She looks away from me and towards the other two guardsponies while my eyes widen in shock at the fact she had read the story the newspapers had of me. "And I hope that the both of you will do the same."
Both of them were looking at me now. Sunlance still with a mostly neutral look, though the little twitch of his ear and the bit of extra attention he started paying after I introduced myself gave away that there was something else in that look. Flowing Moon on the other smiled even wider than she had before, giving a laugh. "Hahah! When you said you were here during the invasion and didn't want to talk about it I thought you were just one of the few Day Guards who had managed to survive the initial assault, hunkering down in one of the few guard strongholds in the city during the invasion that had survived. Not the mare who managed to keep around two dozen civies safe and sound during the entirety of the invasion despite being alone after losing her unit."
I felt my cheeks flush as she heaped the praise on me as I stared anywhere but at her slitted eyes which now focused on me with rapt attention. "I-i didn't do that much. We just hunkered down where we could and did our best to stay hidden while trying to figure out what to do while everypony else fixed it."
She barked out another laugh. "Hah! From the way that article was written, it sounded like you did quite a bit more than just hunker down. By the moon mare, you were stuck in the middle of all their forces and quite a ways away from the presence of any guard forces, and you still managed to find a way to lead all those ponies to safety until the end of it.
Sunlance chose that moment to speak, his tone neutral. "It might not have meant much in the grand scheme of things but for a single recruit? It was impressive work. Even if you did lose your helmet during the chaos somehow."
Just how many ponies had read that article? Stars, I really didn't do that much. It was just my duty, and it was after I initially failed to notice the changelings in our ranks until it was too late to warn everypony else with only time to save what civilians hadn't already entered the room the trap had been laid in. A mistake that had gotten my entire unit caught. And what I had managed afterward was more a fluke than anything else. Especially with how often changelings had nearly caught us and I had been forced to more drastic action to keep them safe.
Princess Cadance had at some point sat down at the front of the table and had pulled out a stack of papers from her saddlebags and plopped them in front of her. "It certainly was. Though since introductions are now over, I do believe it is time we start to discuss more in detail what being one of our personal guards would actually entail. And to confirm that you three would indeed actually wish to be a part of our new personal guard. Just because we've summoned you three here today does not mean you have to join or even decide today. Before I continue, do any of you have any questions?"
None of us did and so the briefing commenced.
