Dear Brother,
It’s good to hear you haven’t forgotten about us after one day, little bro! I can already imagine what they're putting you through today, must be harsh. Those guards I see patrolling the town are strictly focused on their job. I hope you don’t become as uptight as them. Mom is already missing you, I swear if she tells another customer about our embarrassing childhood adventures I might knock myself out. At least she thinks the flush on my face is from the heat or the furnace and not embarrassment.
Also, Dad is holding up pretty well. He wants to work with me, but I try my best to keep him in bed. He’s still stubborn as ever, but at least his naps are getting more frequent. It gives me more time to work on orders. Not much else to do around here ever since you left. Guess that’s a good thing, huh? A lot less trouble for the town. Still, they miss you, but at least we’ll see you when you when you come strutting in all shined up in golden armor. Heh, hard to believe you’d find some way to get in those pearly gates. Celestia knows we tried every other way possible when we were colts.
Tell me how your training goes when you can. Hope they don’t break you on the first day, hate for you to come home and can’t move an inch. Mom is bugging me to death! She wants me to tell you that they miss you and love you and she wants to send you some cookies if they allow that. She also wants to come up for a visit. I swear you go away for one day and she acts like it’s been months. I guess that’s how Mom has always been though. Anyway, I hope to hear from you soon, Thunder.
Your Brother,
Dusty
Dear Brother,
I’m sore. So very, very, sore. Everything hurts. I didn’t know everything could hurt. The training session was harsh. I didn’t know ponies could yell that loud. They expect us to run a lot, to jump, duck, and dodge. Let’s just say I wasn’t too good at the dodging part. Who knew the job of standing there all day took so much training at first? I mean, when are we ever going to use this stuff? Sure, being fast is important, but battle skills? Nothing has threatened the Princesses since the reign of Discord and that was, gosh, that was so long ago. Besides, the guard didn’t do anything back then, Celestia and Luna did all the work. I’m starting to wonder if it’s worth it.
Scratch that! This is so worth it! I’m gonna work super hard no matter how much I’m hurting! Still, it all hurts. There are about three recruits all together, that includes me. One is a gray unicorn named Storm and the other is a blue pegasus named Sky Wing. We were able to talk during lunch and they both come from some section in Canterlot I’ve never heard of. I’ll have to ask them about it again. They seem nice, strong too. I can’t wait to see what they do tomorrow, but I can’t wait to show off too. Even if that means working through the pain.
Sorry if this all sounds discouraging, me complaining about being sore and all. Trust me, I’ll be fine as soon as I get used to all this work. I’ve kind of hoped that there’s more to this guard thing than walking around. Maybe, there is. That’s why we do all this battle training stuff. We’re supposed to be working on our balance tomorrow. I can’t wait to see how well that goes! I just hope I don’t land on my face...
Sorry Mom is bugging you so much. I should send her a flower or something but that may just make it worse... Besides, where would I get a flower around here anyway? I hope Dad settles down and stops trying to smith. He needs to stay out of the heat for his health, I wish he would understand that. Tell him that I want him to rest up, okay? And tell Mom I’m okay and I’m doing fine. Don’t work yourself too much. You know, heat stroke can happen to even you.
Your Brother,
Thunder
Dear Brother,
I still can’t believe I was accepted into Celestia’s Royal Guard! I’m not officially a guard yet, but I will be soon! There are so many formalities you have to go through; training sessions, working with the public, and how to address the royals. I will work hard though, I know it’s worth it. I think the other stallions doubt my abilities, but I’ll show them that we’re not just some weak peasants. I’ll show them that we in the Hooves family can be much more than that! I’m going to try to write to you as much as possible. I don’t know how long training sessions will be, but my first one is tomorrow. I’m excited and nervous at the same time.
Anyway, how is Dad holding up? I know you were planning on taking over the blacksmithing business for him after I left. You’ve always been good at that, I mean it is your special talent and all. Maybe I’ll get to wear some of that armor you made someday. It’s amazing how you can make that stuff shine even as the guards patrol in the dark. I hear the captains bragging about it all the time, of course they get the very best of your armor. They still have some of the armor Dad made but most of it is going to be used on new recruits like us, or at least that’s what one of the guards said. By the way, tell Mom I already miss her and her cooking.
Oh! I haven't seen the Princesses yet but I promise to tell you when I do. I bet Princess Celestia is stunning up close. I bet it’s against the rules to stare at them. I wonder what they do for punishments around here... Actually, I don’t want to find out. I better get some sleep, tomorrow is going to be an interesting day for sure.
Your brother,
Thunder
