“Hey, rook, get up!” the large stallion yelled over the sound of the train's engine, which decreased as they traveled closer to their destination. The big built pony stood over a single, pale white Unicorn stallion, glaring at him. The white stallion groaned and edged out of the compact passenger bed with a slowness comparable to a tortoise.
The train they sat in carried recruits and veterans alike to Canterlot, the capital of Equestria, where they would be put to the test after all of their training for constant months. Already, Spear could see the towering castle up ahead from his low view.
The pale white earth pony stretched, letting out another moan of complaints. Sighing, he looked at his long time friend and fellow recruit, Missy, who sat in a bed opposite of him casually.
She giggled at him, noting his bedhead mane and tired eyes. “Ah, quit complaining. At least you got a bit of sleep,” she said with a teasing glint of her eyes. “You act like such a baby sometimes.”
Spear only replied with a roll of his eyes.
“Hurry up, you slackers!” the captain yelled from the hallway, heading through the door before they could respond.
Both of the ponies looked to the door. Once Missy put down the magazines the ponies working on the train gave to her to keep her occupied, and Spear still attempted to fully awaken himself, they walked towards the exit. As a pony who was not much of a morning person, even with all the harsh training for position of a royal guard, he still did not do well early in the day. Once he even fell asleep while the captain was barking at him—something about not paying attention or something along the lines of that. Now that was a feat.
The two ponies made their way through the corridor to the next car, which was cleared of all chairs and anything else removable so the guards could depart with ease. Spear and Missy fell into formation with about twenty of their other comrades in arms.
Soon after, they and a few others who arrived late—and received yelling from the sarge in reply—the group took orders to disembark and march to their designated zones. The many zones in Canterlot were what they called assignment posts, located in places such as the palace, town square and the eastern and western parts of town. The group separated and went to their areas as commanded. Spear and Missy, side-by-side made their way off the train, getting an eyeful of the local buildings and ponies.
The part they walked through was known for being high class, but the gorgeously overdone hair styles, dresses and suits were quite surprising, almost sad that a pony would waste so much time on such things.
The group split up into a few smaller units, each one heading towards their designated areas. Spear looked at each member of the group. While somepony was only told of their own destination, never another pony's, he did know about Missy being in another group when she told him—and by told, he meant complain.
Their destination was the eastern side of the city, right by Canterlot castle itself, where most of the aristocrats resided. Some ponies glanced up to those ponies with delight, while others despised them for reasons that baffled Spear. Nopony gave them any crap, and for the most part, ponies looked up to them, except for the princesses and the Elements of Harmony, he supposed.
More ponies than he thought noticed the guards as they trotted down the street. Several of the younger, less uptight mares giggled as they passed them, but what struck Spear the most were the higher class ponies. Whenever they came up, they looked at the recruits like they were some item at a store. They kept perfect pace, examining each of them before returning to their previous activities.
Some of the others in their small group even tried to show off, holding their heads high as if it would make them more impressive. Given they were recruited as royal guards now, many of them did not blame those guards, though it did not always work. One polished mare scoffed at the one stallion who attempted to show off his new and golden royal guard attire, in which the others chuckled and patted him on the back for his effort.
Now that he thought about it, Spear did not check who else was in his group. Looking around and between the group, he only saw a few whose names he knew, at least.
To his upper right, a dark brown pony called Gear walked with a tired look in his face. Having been in the guard for around a year, he had been posted on the desert border, which until recent events at the royal wedding had been clear and empty of any significant events. It remained clear even now, yet he expected at least some minor attacks; not that anypony was complaining.
With a glance around, Spear noticed the size and detail of Canterlot's buildings as they made their way deeper into the city. Emblems of different princes and ladies' houses decorated some of the houses in what appeared to be a lined pattern. Guards stood at the doors of these buildings, some looking relaxed while others looked as if they were surrounding by changelings, posed to strike.
The group at last reached their destination: the eastern barracks.
It looked quite like a miniature castle, in Spear's eyes. One guard stood on the front left tower—or perhaps more of an opening in the tall roof. He had trouble telling what it looked like. The group walked to its gated entrance, the whole building itself surrounded by large black gates with razor wires coiling on top. The barracks itself was made from some of the more prestigious materials in Canterlot. Gold trimmings and marble statues adorned the front of it, while the door was made of rosewood and contained gold, too, on the trims.
The group exchanged glances before the pony at point, a rather short stallion, put his hoof on the door to push it open.
The look of the inside, Spear somewhat expected, but at the same time, he was still impressed. The interior of the building almost blinded them. Marble columns supported the structure, pure gold and silver lines coloring the walls accompanied by heroic portraits of several veterans of the royal guard. If this was simply one of the smaller barracks, Spear loved to see the headquarters.
While many guards, from privates to commanders, walked around and did not glance at them, their arrival was acknowledged, from what Spear believed. The group trotted forward, taking it all in; the décor, the ponies, and really everything. Rarely had any of them even dream of seeing Canterlot and all its bright and exquisite wonder. Now it was a reality.
After a moment in awe, the group continued walking towards the back. The floor felt a little off. They were not used to the floors being so smooth and shinny in appearance and texture. It almost made them feel out of place. The marble had been mined by the hardworking ponies that collected and shipped most of the precious metals. It was tough work, but it yielded great rewards... at least to those powerful enough to reap them.
Now near the back end of the room, the team turned left to a large office. Two red doors with blocked out windows lay before them, welcoming them inside. Walking in, they remembered what they had been instructed to do on the train upon their arrival here. The captain had told them to enter the office to sit down and wait for instructions from the barrack's commander. As they were told, they placed themselves on a comfy bright red chair, waiting.
It didn't take long for them to begin talking, some curious as to how long they would wait for the commander, and others where they would be assigned to. The seconds ticked by with Spear striking up conversations with Missy and a few others once in a while, cracking a cheesy joke that he came up with out of the blue. None of them laughed, though Missy patted him on the back for effort.
It didn't take long for them to notice the large, well built unicorn stallion standing at the door. They quieted down and stood at attention. Not even giving them a glance, he walked up to the desk, picking up some papers with a burst of magic. He looked at them casually, while all the ponies in the group remained quiet and waiting for him to say something.
Ripping one of the papers, he held it up to his vision next to Missy. “You, Missy, please report to desk two for your assignment.”
After one last glance glance to Spear and the others, Missy saluted him and walked out with a nervous grin on her face. She disappeared from a corner, and Spear's attention fell back to the unicorn.
“You three,” the unicorn continued, gesturing to the three who had stood by Missy. “You all are to follow her and also report to desk two.”
With a salute like Missy, they trotted out. His eyes fell on Spear, gazing at him with boredom filled expression. Spear guessed he had to do this far too often.
“Alright now, I'm afraid the area you would have been assigned to has been, well, decommissioned. You would have been assigned to Blue Bonnet's guard, but she has been arrested for charges of conspiracy.” What?!
The unicorn ignored Spear's wide eyed reaction, going on. “However, a spot has opened up for, uh, well, Prince Fancypants. The last newbie never really made the cut, and we need a replacement, so I guess you will do.”
Spear frowned at the news, considering he had no choice in the matter. Giving a salute, he responded, “Yes, sir.”
The commanded took a look at the paper again before focusing back on Spear. “I shall arrange for you to stay here tonight, as it is a practical and required for you to be escorted to the castle.”
Spear felt unsure about this new assignment and the news of the arrest. With a sigh, though, he saluted and walked out towards the “bunks,” knowing he'd have to deal with whatever came his way. He stood aside and saluted several higher ranking officers that passed him, in hopes of making a good impression.
The walk was uneventful, as he just observed his surroundings and had not many thoughts on his trot. Sadly, he never got a glimpse of Missy, as she was probably too busy to notice, even if he did get to see her.
Twenty minutes of long walking through the barracks passed. Spear almost fell asleep in how boring and dull it took to get there. At last, he arrived at the nearest barrack bunk room with a free bed. Behind the bright blue door, he heard the laughter of guards, an air of relaxing noticeable in how calm and nonchalant they sounded after a long day.
Opening it, in an instant, he was greeted warmly by the four guards inside. They stood up from a small, makeshift table in the middle, where they were playing guards. All four walked up to him to shake his hoof.
“My name is Halberd,” said a dark blue unicorn, shaking Spear's hoof. “Haven't seen you around. Who are you, rook?”
Rook? Spear pondered. Not even saying a word, and he already had a nickname. He smiled, shaking the dark blue pony's hoof firmly in response. “My name's Spear Tip. I was told to bunk here for the night.”
The stallion nodded. “You up for a game of cards? We could use another player,” he offered with a grin.
“Depends on the game, but sure!” Spear walked up to the table, noticing they were playing a form of poker. Chips and cards splayed around the table, along with several trays of food. One of the guards gave him a tray. Thanking them, Spear sat down and watched their game for the future.
Halberd seemed to be winning, as he had most of the chips, as well as a wide smile on his face. The pony to his right, a petite, light green stallion, appeared to be stuck in last, a look of worry and defeat on his face as he buried his face in his cards. The other two had a moderate amount of chips, not too concerned at the moment.
All the ponies were too busy and deeply attentive in their game to notice another pony entering.
“You're in my seat.” The voice seemed to strike the stallions like a bolt of lightning. They froze, gradually turning their heads, Spear following in curiosity, toward the voice's owner. A smile big muscled, snow white coated stallion with green eyes stood by the door. Closing it, he continued walking inside the room.
“The head of the table is my place.” The pony sitting at the head besides Halberd stumbled out of it as fast as he could, falling onto the floor. Ignoring him, the big pony walked past Halberd, who tracked him the entire way, and sat down.
“What is this? No cheer for ol' Jack's return?” he said with a devious smile at the stallions.
The smaller stallion cleared his throat to speak. “We figured you were promoted to Lieutenant by now, Jack,” he replied, shivering in nervousness. “We're just surprised to see you here with us, that's all.”
“My commission was refused,” Jack answered, glaring at the table.
“Oh. Bad luck,” the pony who stumbled on the floor said.
His eyes glazed over the pony, then at Spear, and Spear could feel those eyes radiate aggression.
“What's this? A new face among our company? Who are you, mister?”
“Private Spear Tip,” Spear replied in a polite tone, hoping to give a good first impression.
Without replying, Jack leaned toward to grab an apple from Spear. Spear stared at him with a glower in his eyes. “What right do you have helping yourself to my food, sir?” he asked, his voice still placid, but his patience thinned as Jack took a bite into the apple.
The pony simply glanced at the smaller stallion, who spoke up for Jack. “We are all to, uh, give the best choices to Jack, along with the best places and positions on the team.”
Spear's jaw fell slack in shock. None of these ponies were surprised in the slightest, however, barely paying attention at this point, as if this was a mundane event here. Was it?
“But we are all privates here,” Spear replied with a glance at Jack.
Jack stood up, walking over the spear, inching close to his face, grinning with a flicker of haughtiness in his eyes. “You know the saying; 'Render to the King.' And I'll let you figure out which one of us is the king...”
Author's Note
Thank you to ghost writer and chrysaor FOR some of THE NAMES used here. Check them out!
