He was in line right after the snow-white, black maned earthpony mare, who caught his eye on the main road. They were standing with about 30 other ponies at the entrance of the Castle of the Two Sisters.

Summer Smiles, the pegasus stallion with the grey coat and the light-blue mane, had only had eyes for the mare with the grey-black snowflake cutie mark, so he had no idea what they were queuing for.

“Hopefully it is some kind of free giveaway,” thought Smiles. "You don't want to stand here for a chance to sneak a peek at the princesses or something similar."

The alicorn sisters ruled Equestria for some time now, Celestia governing the day, Luna the night, but since their victory over Discord, spirit of Chaos, respect had turned into reverence.
In the eyes of the normal pony, they ascended from powerful, benevolent ponies to goddesses walking the earth.

In Summer Smiles’ eyes, that was all good and fine, but he just did not feel inclined to worship them, and especially to stand in line for a chance to do that.

He tried to look past the other ponies to the front of the line, hoping for a clue. But all he could make out was the closed main gate.

Maybe if his mind had not been so occupied with the mare in front of him, he would have known what he was queuing for. For now, he decided that standing behind a cute mare and coming up with a pick-up line had priority.

Just as he had decided to try his luck with a nonchalant ‘Well, looks we’ll be here for a while’ and a smile, the line started moving and Summers felt he was back at square one, maybe even worse off.
Once they reached the end of the line, he would have no excuse to stay that close behind her. “Vanilla.” He finally decided what she smelled like. “Dammit. Summer. Focus!”

While his mind raced, the line was mercilessly moving forward, only one pony was between them and the castle’s main gate. “You’re quickly running out of options here, Summer. Go for the obvious, even if it seems desperate, it’ll at least be honest. Just turn to her and tell her you find her attractive and ask for her - ”

“Name?” the deep voice of the guardpony interrupted his reflection. It took him a moment to realize the question had not been directed at him, but at the mare in front of him instead.
She moved her lips but he could not make out a single word of what she said. The guard apparently had the same problem. “I am sorry, I didn't quite catch that.”

“I said, my name is Shadow Chill, sir.” Her voice was low, a bit raspy and she seemed to become even quieter every other word. Her body stiffened a bit and her expression was of embarrassment while she talked, radiating how uncomfortable she was with her own voice.

Summer Smiles absolutely loved it. Her voice resonated within every fiber of his being and left a lingering echo of emotions in his body. “Calm Down, Summer! You’re getting too infatuated with a strange, mysterious, beautiful - Focus! You don’t know her, don’t create an image of her in your mind, she can’t possibly live up to. Remember the Sky Dancer Fiasco. And more importantly, she doesn't know you! Don’t be a creep, Summer.”

Occupied with his own thoughts, he just missed the rest of Shadow Chill’s conversation with the guard and was only aware when she left a hoofprint on the form the guard presented to her. She went across the court towards a side entrance and Summer followed her until two guards blocked his path.

“Not so fast, Hotshot.” The third guard’s voice came from behind him. “You’ll get in soon enough. First, I need your name.” Summer Smiles quickly turned towards the guard.

“Summer Smiles.” The guard nodded and wrote it down.

“Occupation?” he asked, looking at him past the form.

“Travelling minstrel,” Summer stated, side-glancing at the court out of fear that he lost track of Shadow Chill.

“I’ve never heard that before. What does a travelling minstrel do?” The guard looked at him inquisitively.

“Most of the time I answer that question.” Summer graced him with his best smile. “Other times, I entertain with wit, song and dance. Mostly wit.” He furrowed his brow. “And I travel a lot, hence a traveling minstrel.”

“Yeah, that makes sense.” The other two guards were nodding their heads in understanding, while the one in front of him turned the form around. “It takes all kinds of ponies. Hoofprint.”

“Sure.” Summer pressed his hoof onto the magic parchment, leaving an imprint infused with his magic, the only official and almost unforgeable authentication. “So, where do I go now?” Summer hoped he could coax some information out of the guard, but the guard just pointed across the court with a hoof. There, Summer saw Shadow Chill disappear through a door frame, and decided to follow.

He managed to clear about half the courtyard, before crashing into another pony and knocking her to the ground. She looked young, barely out of school and her tawny coat was only visible at the neckline of a guard uniform, which was at least one size too big. Her unicorn horn was also smaller, sticking only a bit out of her short, flame-red mane.

“I’m sorry, little girl, I wasn't looking. Where are your parents?” Summer smiled at her, while offering her a hoof to help her up. The unicorn filly rose her head up to him with a look Summer could not interpret. “I am really sorry for knocking you over. Please don’t cry.”

“You… , “ started the filly, her voice higher pitched than Summer would have expected. “You…, loudmouthed, clumsy, insensible, winged clutz!” Summer took a step back. “Don’t you back away from me, Mister 'Where are your parents?' I'll let you know that, just because I am a bit short for my age, and they had no uniform my size, you have no right to belittle me like that. Can’t you watch where you are going?”

“Yes, - I mean, no - usually -” Summer took a deep breath. “Hi, I am Summer Smiles, and I’m sorry, I crashed into you Miss…?”

“Bells, recruit Winter Bells.” She looked up at him and Summer saw that, despite her stature, her eyes were those of a grown pony - and an angry one. “And I am not done with you, not in the -.” She stopped mid sentence, looking directly into his eyes.“How do you do that?”

“How do I do what?” asked Summer, knowing quite well what Bells meant. He just could not resist teasing the filly in front of him. “You should think of her as a mare, though. She seems to have quite the temper and you know the limits of your gift.”
Summer wondered shortly if other ponies also had a voice in their head commenting on their actions.

“I don’t feel as angry at you anymore,“ explained Winter. “I mean, I’m still upset, but I kind of feel like you’re honestly sorry, and I should give you a second chance.” She looked away and Summer saw the hint of a blush. “I even feel good about thinking like that.”

“Oh, that.” Summer rounded Winter Bells so he could look at her face again. “It is my special talent, a Summer Suns Smile.” Not breaking eye contact, he turned to the side to show her his Cutie Mark, a bright yellow sun with a happy smile. “Ponies I smile my special smile at tend to feel better about themselves , in turn feel better about me. It helps.”

“That sounds awfully convenient,” said Bells, forcefully averting her gaze and tensing up. “Even manipulative.”

“I probably made it sound more effective than it is,” Summer replied. “Most of the time it just takes the edge out of a situation. It allows for a fresh start, though.” He extended a hoof. “Hi, my name is Summer Smiles. I’m a travelling minstrel and I am very sorry for bumping into you like that. I should have paid more attention.”

Winter hesitated a moment before shaking his hoof. “Yes, you should have. My name is Winter Bells, I’m a recruit in the royal guard.” She raised her blue-violet eyes and connected them with Summer’s hazel-brown eyes. To his own surprise, Summer realized how intimidated he felt, despite her having to look up to him. “Apology accepted.” She broke the eye contact and glanced past him at the sky. “It’s getting late. I should hurry, I want a good place for the meet.” She rushed past him, and turned around. “See you later, recruit Smiles.”

Summer followed her across the court with his eyes. “Quite an energetic little pony. I wouldn’t want to get on her bad side. Wait, did she just call you-” “I am not a recruit!” Summer called after her, but she was already out of earshot. He decided to let the matter rest and turned towards his initial destination.

“Maybe you just joined the guard? You’ve pulled crazier stunts!” the little voice in his head relentlessly reminded him . “Joining the guard, just because you couldn’t resist to chase a cute dock, that really would qualify as,” - Summer pulled the door open, stepping into an armory.
“Horsefeathers.”

“Language, Hotshot.” Behind the counter a dark grey earthpony locked her sapphire-blue eyes on him. Her violet mane was done into a tight bun and she placed a pair of rimmed spectacles onto her nose. “You’re a size M?” She leaned towards him, eyes squinting.
“A size L more likely. You’re not on regular weather patrol, I guess?” Summer smirked at her comment.
“Don’t worry, Hotshot, you’ll easily lose those extra pounds during training.”

“Seriously, what’s with Hotshot?” asked Summer, coming closer to the counter. “You’re the second pony to address me like that. My name’s Summer Smiles.”

The earthpony was genuinely surprised. “You never heard of Lieutenant Hotshot?” she blinked, apparently holding out for a reaction. “The only pegasus to ever score a hit on Discord and get away with it, in a way?” She studied Summer for a reaction.
“You really haven’t heard about her. That’s a first. Almost every pegasus joining wants to be the next Hotshot.” She laughed. It was a pleasant, melodic sound.

“Well, I don’t. Let’s say, -” Summer tried to link a rank to her uniforms insignia. “Sergeant, somepony has second thoughts about joining, what should I - that pony do?” He hit her with a full power Summer Sun Smile, just to be sure.

“That pony being more of a lover than a fighter, I’d guess?” She leaned a bit closer, looking at him over her glasses’ rim.

“You got that right, Sergeant.” He winked at her for added effect.

“My name’s Sergeant Vera Dûn, but most ponies call me Sarge Vera.” She leaned back while keeping her eyes on Summer. “Well, recruit Smiles, the pony in question would be in quite a bind. Once he declared his intention of quitting, he’d be put under house-arrest in the barracks until a full investigation into the matter is concluded. That process could take weeks, maybe months. And in the eyes of the public, he would be seen as a flighty individual at best, and a Chaos Lover at worst.” Summer Smiles swallowed hard.

Even after four years, Discord’s reign was still fresh in Equestria’s memory and ponies did not react favorably to any mention of chaos, and being regarded as a Chaos Lover was a guarantee for a tough, unhappy and short life.

“Or he could just stay in basic training and take solace in the fact that only the top 10% will be asked to join the royal guard. It’s an exclusive club.” She placed a neatly folded uniform on the counter. “And I bet he would look quite dashing in uniform.”

“Thank you for answering my completely hypothetical question, Sarge Vera.” Summer pulled the uniform towards him, it was light green in color and rather soft to the touch.

“Any time, recruit Smiles. And you should be more careful with that smile of yours, unless you intend to deliver on its promise.” Summer hid his blush behind the uniform. “The official meeting is in the main hall in 20, recruit. So get changed and get going.” Summer could just nod, carrying the uniform in his mouth.

Vera’s melodic laugh accompanied Summer into the changing room, and he felt the warmth of his blush creep to his ears. “That was awesome! Well she was, you made a foal out of yourself.”

Summer tried to ignore the voice, concentrating on getting dressed. “Sarge Vera was right, though, you’re a size L now. Good thing ponies usually don’t wear clothes.”
He checked himself in the mirror, the uniform fit well and he had to admit the color accentuated his hazel-brown eyes. He waited until the blush subsided and then left through another door leading back into the courtyard.

Summer looked around until he caught sight of other ponies in recruit uniforms heading towards an archway and decided to follow. The two unicorn colts were amicably chatting with each other, so Summer just followed a few steps behind, content that he had a few more seconds to think.

“As if you’d actually get some thinking down.” Summer ignored the voice with ease, it has been his constant companion ever since he remembered. He considered all aspects of his new life, at least for the next few months during the basic training. “Oh yes, you look dashing in uniform, and yes, maybe the time will help you lose a few pounds and get all that needed training done. Can’t you see, you’re already trying to put a positive spin on things. It doesn't help you if you do not learn.”

As soon as Summer passed the Archway, he was looking at the great hall, which actually was the throne room, and it was packed. Even though he quickly spotted Shadow Chill, he decided to just stay in back, with the other late-comers. No need to seek her out immediately, they had months of training ahead of them.
“Well, not the whole lesson anyways. I guess Sky Dancer left an impression, among other things.”

“So, why did you join?” asked the light blue unicorn in front of him his dark brown neighbor.

“Well, usually the royal guard positions are reserved for members of few noble families. But this year, there was an open call and I answered. It’s a prestigious position. What about you?”

The blue unicorn hesitated a moment, before answering in a low voice. “My filly friend really likes colts in uniform.”
After a long silent pause the brown one started laughing, the other unicorn sports a perplexed look before bursting into laughter himself.
“I admit it is kinda silly. I can’t think of a sillier reason to join up.”

“Oh, but I can.”

Author's Note

Fully edited chapter.
Special Thanks to my editors, Caro and Sarah.