Ah, the Canterlot Palace. Arguably one of the most beautiful landmarks in all of Equestria, it served as home to the ruling monarch and her staff. The palace was always alive with the hustle and bustle of ponies; servants had things to clean, dignitaries had meetings to attend, and the guards had patrols to finish. Often the queen herself was either in her throne room addressing complaints of her earls or elsewhere discussing the politics of her country. However, today, the throne room was empty. The parlors were quiet. A serving pony trotted down the hallways quietly, levitating a tray with two elegant teacups and a pot arranged neatly. The serving pony made his way outside, out to the bridge that overlooked the training grounds for the Royal Guard.
The guard was compromised of all types of ponies that could prove themselves worthy. Pegasi practiced aerial flight patterns and combat moves, while earth ponies sparred against one another on the ground. The unicorn guards practiced both physical and magical tactics. Perched on the bridge were two ponies, their forelegs dangling over the edge as they watched the ponies below. The smaller of the two was a pegasus mare. Her coat was a gentle yellow color, her mane and tail both light pink. A small, humble circlet sat atop her forehead, holding her mane up and also making it clear she was a pony of high status. Beside her was a glimmering white unicorn mare, her mane pulled into a precise ponytail. The unicorn's attention was focused on the unicorn guards specifically, her cheeks flushed slightly with a light shade of pink.
The pegasus mare turned her head when the serving pony approached with the tray. He bowed slightly to her, staying in a lowered position with his tray hovering above him. "Your Highness," he said quietly, "your tea." The pegasus glanced over at her companion, who didn't seem to have heard the serving pony. She turned her sympathetic gaze on the stallion before gently nudging her friend with a wing.
"Rarity, this nice pony has brought tea." The pegasus spoke softly, almost as if she were afraid to speak too loudly. Despite the soft volume of the pegasus mare's voice, the unicorn blinked and turned her head, focusing her eyes on the serving pony.
"Oh, yes. Thank you, Brewer, you may go," the unicorn, Rarity, said after a moment. The levitating tray was wrapped in a gentle blue glow, and the queen pulled the tray closer to herself and her companion. "I'm terribly sorry Fluttershy, I didn't notice he was there. Tea, darling?" Even while asking the question, the white mare was pouring tea into both cups. She set one down in front of her friend, tipping the other delicately to her lips to take a sip. "Now, what were we discussing?" Her gaze was pulled towards the grounds again, but it seemed like this time she was making an attempt to focus on the timid mare beside her.
"You were saying I should hire protection," Fluttershy said softly, ignoring her tea for now, "though I don't really see why. I'm not near as important as Earl Grey Feather or -- "
"Grey Feather is not one of my dearest friends, dear," Rarity chuckled, smiling kindly at Fluttershy. "You are in a rare position of being the queen's dear friend. That makes you a target for jealous ponies, and you need to be safe. I've told you already, you can have your pick of my Royal Guard to be at your side. I only want the best for you."
"Rarity, you don't even have a guard," Fluttershy murmured, looking back down at the training grounds.
"Darling," Rarity laughed, "I have the entire Royal Guard at my service."
"You have no pony there while you sleep," the small pegasus said after a moment. "Your guards can only watch so much, Rarity. You need a pony at your side more than I do. Besides," she went on with a slight, gentle smile, "I don't think I can have my pick of the Royal Guard."
"Of course you can!" Rarity exclaimed, putting a hoof to her chest in mock hurt. "I won't deny you the best of protection, Fluttershy, dear. Tell me, if you could pick now, any pony, which would you want to protect you?"
"The purple unicorn." Rarity closed her muzzle, blinked, and looked down at the grounds very slowly.
The unicorn in question was currently in the middle of a circle of other unicorn guards. Only lightly armored with training pads, she was considerably outnumbered and faced the challenge of getting out of the circle. She was tall, built like a Shire, with muscle rippling under her amethyst pelt. As the royals watched, one of the unicorn guards leapt at the pony in the center, striking out with his hooves. The purple unicorn lashed out viciously, knocking the poor guard aside like he was a fly. Then the rest of them were on her, six ponies in all against one unicorn. The yard flashed with magical discharges and clanged with the sound of bodies colliding with bodies.
In a few short minutes, the unicorn stood alone, her attackers laying around her on the ground in various states of beating. "Oh, come on now," the unicorn shouted, pacing around the guards on the ground. "I didn't hit any of you where it would really do any damage. At worst you're going to be bruised in the morning. If you can't take that, you're not fit to be in the Royal Guard. On your hooves, again!"
"The... The purple unicorn has a name," Rarity said after a moment, shaking her head slightly. "That is Twilight Sparkle, the very finest of my guard. She is strong, and fast with her magic, and brilliant as any scholar I've ever know, and..."
"And you should take her as your bodyguard," Fluttershy interrupted, earning a wide-eyed look from the queen. "Rarity, I worry about you. When I go home, I only get brief reports in your letters from the mailmare every few days. I worry that the next one will be telling me you're injured or dead! Take a bodyguard, I beg you!" The queen looked down upon the grounds again, where the poor ponies beaten by Twilight Sparkle were just starting to get to their hooves and form up for the next round of training. She certainly didn't want to worry her closest friend, and perhaps Fluttershy had a point... An assassin could slip past her guards, but could one slip past the infamous Twilight Sparkle?
Her horn glowed blue as she called up a voice-amplifying spell, clearing her throat. The sound resonated over the grounds, and every ground froze and turned before falling to attention at the sight of their queen. "Twilight Sparkle," she said, her gaze focused on the mare, "come here at once. General Kicker, please take over drills." The magic around her horn faded, and after a moment the ponies started to move again. Twilight Sparkle bowed to her queen and turned to trot away, moving smoothly over the ground. The queen couldn't help but watch as the other mare disappeared into the spiral stairwell that led up to the bridge, guarded by two more guards-ponies.
The fit, able-bodied unicorn was at the top in just seconds. Up close, she stood at least a head taller than her queen, though that was negated when she immediately dropped into a low bow. "Your Majesty, how can I serve you?" the unicorn asked, her eyes closed and her muzzle pointed to the ground.
"Rise, Twilight Sparkle, please," Rarity said quietly, hoping her cheeks were not as red as they felt. She waited until the warrior had risen before continuing, trying not to stare at the scar in her chest or how her muscles rippled as she moved. "It has come to my attention that I am severely under protected in my own palace. I have taken the many years of peace Equestria has had for granted as of late. The guard staff is lower than ever."
"I can train more ponies, Your Grace," Twilight said, standing stiff and tall. "I will have the patrols doubled, the watches -- "
"I'm not talking about patrols and watches, Twilight," the white unicorn said quietly, silencing the other pony. "I'm talking about personally. So, I have decided to appoint you my bodyguard. You will eat every meal with me, sleep just off my chambers, attend all my meetings. You will be the sole pony responsible of my immediate safety." There was a silence that stretched on for quite some time, with Fluttershy hovering just behind the queen to see what would happen.
Then, Twilight bowed her head in a nod. "As the Queen commands."
Author's Note
This chapter, and the start of my attempted fanfic, was based mostly off an image by Earthsong9405 on DeviantArt called "Undivided Attention."
