The New Guard Order

Chapters

Ch. 1
Ch. 2
Word Association Game
Ch. 3
Ch. 4

Ch. 1

Opening song for the chapter. Because, why not?

Canterlot, the capital of Equestria, home of the royal princesses. A city meant for the finest and most sophisticated ponies. Only the finest guards and soldiers were at Celestia and Luna’s side, always alert and ready for defense. Two ponies were walking through the busy streets of Canterlot one day, one of them being a teenage filly and the other a stallion.

The filly’s name was Shira Blitz, she had grey fur and a long purple mane and tail along with bright green eyes. The older stallion was her brother, Paper Cut. He wore round glasses and had snow white fur along with a long tan mane and tail. His cutiemark was that of pen drawing a star on a piece of paper. The two siblings were walking down the street on their weekly stroll. As they walked, the richer folk couldn’t help but stare at Shira’s appearance.

“Is that her?” one mare said.

“Yeah, I think so,” said another stallion.

“Is it true what they say about her?”

“Sounds like it.”

“Why should somepony like her live in a city like this?”

“Isn’t she dangerous?”

“What’s her baggage?”

“Haven’t you heard the rumors about her?”

Luckily, the filly was in too much of a good mood to listen to what they had to say, but her brother on the other hand was more than disgusted. He disliked how the snooty citizens looked down at his sister and treated her horribly, calling her names and spreading rumors as such. All because she was a little bit “different” than everypony else. The siblings made it to their favorite resting spot, a statue of princess Celestia herself. Shira couldn’t help but gasp in its royal glory, she had always looked up to the princess. Since she was the one who would always protect her subjects from danger. She continued to admire the statue as her brother caught up to her.

“Praising the statue again?” teased Paper.

“How could I not? Isn’t she just beautiful?” she said cheerfully.

“I guess, for someone who’s entirely made of stone,” he replied facetiously.

“Shut up, you know what I mean,” she whined.

“I know I know. Why do you like her so much?” he wondered.

“She’s the one who discovered this amazing land and has always been there to protect her children. We would all be dead without her. After all, she IS the one who saved mommy from that accident.”

“Haha, yeah,” he said as he looked away somberly.

“I swear, I’ll be by her side one day. And who knows, maybe we could be the best of friends?” she hoped.

“Keep dreaming kid, keep dreaming,” he said with a small laugh.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

Twilight and her friends were just settling into their new crystalized castle at the edge of Ponyville. They still can’t believe that they’ll be running their own kingdom soon. After all the trials and challenges they’ve been through together, none of them could believe that they achieved this far; and yet it felt like their real duties were only beginning. The six friends and Spike were all settling in the royal throne room, in which all the thrones were all in a circle and had all of the elements cutie marks on them. Pinkie Pie was setting up decorations for an opening castle party, Fluttershy and AJ were moving some boxes, Spike was reading some comics and Twilight was just making sure everything was in check.

“I still can’t believe we got our own castle!” squealed Rainbow Dash.

“I know, it’s truly unbelievable,” agreed Rarity.

“Yeah, who knows what kind of cool things we’ll get to do now,” added Spike.

“Well first, we need to finish making sure this castle in top shape. Although I can’t help but notice something,” said Twilight.

“Notice what?” asked Applejack.

“Other than us, don’t you girls feel like that this place feels a little, empty?” wondered Twilight.

“Sort of,” pointed out Fluttershy. “But we just received this castle so I guess it would makes sense that there isn’t-“

BELCH!

Before she could finish, Spike burped up scroll concealed in his green flames. When the fire died out, Twilight levitated the scroll to her with a confused expression. She opened it up and was surprised at what it said inside.

“A letter from the princess?” Applejack assumed.

“Yeah, I wonder what she needs.” Twilight scrolled her eyes down the paper but was more than surprised at what it had to say. “Oh my.”

“What is it?” asked Dash.

“Take a look.” Twilight replied showing everyone the letter.

Dear Twilight,
I am very proud of you for this incredible accomplishment you and your friends have made. You really have changed since you were my student and I am happy for you. You have your own castle now and have your own royal duties as a princess. Although, I couldn’t help but notice, you and your friends don’t have something that I have. Something that you can’t rule without, you need guards. You can’t protect Equestria by yourselves, you’re going to need some assistance along the way, which is why my sister and I have decided to launch a new program to help decide what kind of guards and officers would fit best for your castle. The New Guard Order. I will explain more in the next letter.

Sincerely Yours,

Princess Celestia

All of their eyes were wide with shock, they didn’t know how to react to this new program that Celestia was talking about. Twilight needed some more assistance, some guards by her side.

“New Guard Order?” asked the puzzled Pinkie Pie.

“What does that mean?” wondered Rarity.

“I have no idea.”

A Few Days Later

The Ponyville express had just pulled into the station on a misty morning. The steam burst and the doors slide open, letting all of the passengers exit. Some were there for work, others for vacation, and some of them for their own reasons. The train was about to close its doors, until three remaining passengers stepped out and onto the platform. These three passengers took a glimpse at their temporary home village and trotted right off the platform.

As the morning mist started to fade, the three figures became a little more visible. One of them was a very tall and bulk Zebra with an oval cut crystal for a cutiemark. He had the usual grey and white striped look on his body with matching design mohawk and tail. He also had bright amber eyes that seem to stood out the most. He also carried, what looked like, heavy supplies on his back covered by a cloak.

In front of him was a stallion much shorter in terms of height, but still looked pretty strong. He was a Pegasus and sported a messy cyan mane and tail, he also had a bright red coat and ocean blue eyes that seemed void of any emotion. His mark was that of a crisscross of a blade and a paint brush. He also carried a long spear-like weapon on him with a silver staff along with a diamond shaped blade.

The last figure that came out was also a Pegasus, but this one was female unlike the latter. She had an artichoke color fur along with a rough cut pitch-black mane and tail that had some grey in it. Her mark was that of three scars made by feathers bearing the same colors as her mane. Lastly, she sported two black arm bands on her front hooves and wore a brown ranger cloak.

The trio roamed through the misty streets of Ponyville as they were trying to find their designated castle. As they were walking, some of them tried to start a conversation with each other.

“Geez,” the mare said with a sigh. “How long has it been since the elements took down Nightmare moon? Chill Wind?”

Name: Chill Wind

Species: Pegasus Stallion

“One year and two months to be exact,” replied the Pegasus stallion named Chill Wind. “But it feels a lot longer than that.”

“So then, that’s also the amount of time that the elements of Harmony have been together,” mentioned the zebra. “Hard to imagine that they’ve come this far.”

“Yeah, it is,” spoke the mare. “I still don’t see why I was transferred here.”

“It’s all part of the program, I’m sure more will be explained once we get there,” answered the zebra.

“Whatever, this place still seems better than the city. I just hope that two-faced back stabber, Discord, doesn’t show up today,” she hissed.

“I never liked Discord,” added Chill stoically. “Why do the elements still trust him?”

“Dunno, maybe it’s because they ‘still have faith in him', or some crap like that,” the mare replied with a shrug.

“We won’t know until we get there, Artemis. So please remain calm so you don’t frighten any newbies,” ordered the zebra.

“You think I’m not capable of controlling myself?” Artemis questioned.

Name: Artemis Featherclaw

Species: Pegasus Mare

“I don’t care if he’s on our side now, if he pulls anything I’ll tear him to shreds. I’ll do whatever is right, don’t underestimate me, Amber.”

Name: Amber Belle

Species: Zebra Stallion

"Call me Crusher," he half growled

“Enough you two,” said Chill stepping in. “It appears, were here.”

Later That Day

It was 4:30 in the evening, and it was still pretty bright out in Ponyville. A passenger train in the distance was only a few miles away from the Ponyville station. On that train was a mare strumming on her acoustic guitar. Shira Blitz, now 20 years old and just passed her final physical exam. Even though she was considered one of the guards, she was still very new and had little to no experience.

So, there she was, a trainee fresh out of the academy and already getting transferred. Her appearance has changed as well, her purple mane was now cut short and the bangs were covering her right eye while her tail remained it’s normal length. She even had a cutiemark now, a blue music note with a large blade coming out of the top. She didn’t know what that meant for her, but she figured she should focus on that later.

The train finally pulled into the station and came to a complete stop. Once the conductor gave the okay, the doors slid open and everyone exited the train. Shira put her guitar away in its case and stepped outside and felt the warm summer breeze.

“So this is it. Ponyville,” she said as she took in her surroundings.

She began walking through the small village and noticed how peaceful and old fashioned it looked, with its cream-colored houses and carts selling a wide variety of fruits and veggies. Her thoughts began buzzing around in her head as she strolled down the road.

So much for being at Celestia’s side. I only wanted to join the guard so I could be near the princess, she thought to herself. Becoming one of Celestia’s royal guards is like, a huge step-forward. It’s like you’ve made it to the top of everything. That, and you have the awesome duty of fighting bad guys and protecting the ones that matter. Why would she tell me to join this New Guard Order? And through a letter?! Then again, why would Celestia want a plain mare like me to be one of her royal soldiers?

Her ears drooped and she began to sulk, as she began to think more of the possible and negative realization of her transfer. She even noticed that almost every pony that walked past her was giving her a cynical look. She felt more discomfort here than back at Canterlot, it’s like the minute she stepped in and already everyone wants to chuck her with stones and rotten fruit. She decided it would be best if she thought more positively the rest of the stroll.

C’mon, don’t think like that! Stay optimistic! Celestia would never do something as cold as sending her new recruits away because they didn't look sophisticated enough for her. I’m sure there was a logically good reason why she transferred me. After all, the princess cares for all of her subjects, right?

Her thoughts came to a stop as found herself standing in front of a pair of huge crystalized doors. She stepped back and got a better view, the crystal castle was unlike anything she had seen before. It looked like a combination between the Crystal Empire castle and Celestia’s castle. It’s blue and purple crystals sparkled and shimmered all around.

“So this is the place,” said Shira in an amazed tone. “The new castle of Princess Twilight and the elements. I’ve heard a lot of stories about these mares. I just hope this princess will be kind and protective like her mentor.”

Shira’s face was now full of determination and nodded to her own confidence. She approached the door and gave a hard knocking. They swiftly swung open, revealing a small purple and green dragon behind.

“Hello, I’m Spike,” he greeted. “You must be here for the New Guard Order?”

“Y-Yes. I’m Shira,” she replied sounding unsure. “Shira Blitz.”

“You alright?” Spike asked concerned.

“It’s just…..I heard this princess had a dragon as an assistant. But I never imagined he would be so……..adorable!” she said with a squeal.

“Aw thanks,” he said with a slight blush. “I get that a lot.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah, like five other times today.”

They both shared a laughed, and Spike finally decided to show Shira in. He took through a long crystal hallway that sparkled every time they took a step. They reached the end of the hallway to see another set of doors.

“The rest of the recruits are waiting behind this door. The first meeting will begin soon, so just make yourself comfortable until it starts,” informed Spike as he departed.

“Cool, thanks Spike!” she waved.

“No problem.”

Shira faced the doors and grew even more determined, but a little nervous as well. With that, she put both hooves on the doors and pushed them right open. Behind it, a big wide open area with podiums at the end. It resembled that of a multi-purpose room. There was also a wide variety of different ponies behind the doors. They all turned to her and stared with confused looks. Shira felt stage fright, she didn’t know what to say to her new group members.

“Um….hi,” she greeted awkwardly.

“Yo, you just going to stand there and act all generic or are you going to tell us your name?” asked this one stallion with a big smile on his face.

Name: Spinout

Species: Pegasus Stallion

This stallion looked kind of young, around 19 or 20 years of age. He had a huge wingspan, bigger than anyone else in the room. He had mossy green fur to go along with his short blue two-toned mane and tail. His mark looked like that of a hurricane.

“Nopony likes a staller you know,” he teased.

“C’mon, don’t be rude, Spinout,” said another stallion. “Nopony likes a jerky friend either.”

Name: Tacitus

Species: Unicorn Stallion

Tacitus had a very different look than Spinout. Other than being a unicorn, his mane and tail were pitch black and neat while his fur was brown. He sported a grey flat cap and scarf and his mark had a strange blue eye symbol that looked really confusing.

“I’m Tacitus by the way, it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance,” he greeted.

“Like-wise,” replied Shira as she shook his hoof.

“Um, excuse me,” said a very meek voice.

It appeared to belong to a very small and very submissive unicorn mare who was barely raising her hoof.

Name: Grassy Fields

Species: Unicorn Mare

The mare was very skinny and short in height, almost like a doll. She had curly grassy green mane and tail along with a light green coat. She also wore a pair of rectangular glasses that had a golden color to it. Her mark looked like a diamond-like eye surrounded by flying grass blades.

“Not to be a bother, but were you also transferred here?” she asked timidly.

“Yes, I was,” Shira answered.

“I see, just like everyone else then,” she replied.

“Hey!” a voice called out. They turned their heads to see another stallion staring at them. This one was an earth pony with a blue fur coat and yellow and red mane and tail that looked like it was on fire. His mark was that of a ruby red heard within a golden star. However the strangest thing about him was that he had a large phoenix on his back.

Name: Terra Lionmane

Species: Earth Pony Stallion

“You were supposed to be here at 4:30 and it’s 4:36. Is this how you want to serve the princess, as well as the elements?” he informed calmly.

“Huh?” asked Shira.

“Hey, we just talked about this. Don’t you want to make her feel welcome?” defended Tacitus.

“Well, at least she’s not like the other two tardy recruits who still aren’t here yet. Anyway, the name is Terra Lionmane and I-“

“Noponycaresaboutyou!” interrupted another energetic voice.

It belonged to yet, another stallion. This one had a short green spikey mane tail along with an orange fur and trio of bombs for a cutiemark. All while rocking a red bowtie.

Name: Short Fuse

Species: Unicorn Stallion

“Hi, I’m Short Fuse. It’s a pleasure to meet you!” he greeted happily.

“You’re name is Short Fuse?” asked Shira worried.

“Yep! Don’t be fooled by the name, I’m actually really laid back,” he admitted.

“Then why are you named like that?” asked Tacitus.

“Because my special talent lies in with my favorite word. I’ll give you a hint, it rhymes with-“

"Short Fuse!” yelled Terra.

“No, it rhymes with Ba-Zoom!” he responded.

“Is it, Ka-boom?” asked Shira.

“Yes! I love destroying things, it’s my passion. Hey, how did you know that was my favorite word? Did someone told you? Was it THAT guy?” he accused Tacitus.

“No, you said it rhymed with….and then you….ah nevermind,” sighed Shira.

“Short Fuse, I do not appreciate you cutting me off during my introduction.” Terra spoke calmly.

“Not my fault you were about to give a boring ass intro. I had to do something,” Fuse said with a laugh.

“Why you little-“

“Ok, you two need to stop this before this gets out of hoof,” stepped in a familiar bulk Zebra.

“He interrupted me during my introduction. It was very rude.”

“Goodie-goodie,” laughed Fuse.

“You can give your intro later,” suggested Crusher.

“Yeah, and do you think it’s worth it to bring damage to a new castle like this? Wouldn’t it be more honorable to give your intro while the elements are in the room?” asked an approaching mare.

Name: Selune Darkeye

Species: Unicorn Mare

This mare had a medium long maroon mane and tail, which had golden bobble on it. Her body had a dark grey color to it but also had white stripes, almost like a zebra. Her mark was a creepy looking eyeball with three tear-like edges underneath it.

“Very well,” he said as he began to walk while his phoenix followed him. “C’mon Fenix.”

“Sorry about that, he can get a little, uptight sometimes,” the mare said with a smile. “I’m Selune Darkeye.”

“Shira Blitz.”

“It's very nice to meet you, let’s be the best of frie-“

“What an eyesore,” spoke another voice. She turned around to see an earth pony mare with sour expression on her face.

Name: Flash Cache

Species: Earth Pony Mare

This mare had a bright yellow coat and a white mane and tail, both had a grey streak in it. The bangs of the mane were curled up above her eyes, revealing her annoyed and grouchy look. Her mark looked like a camera in mid-flash. She was also carrying a broad sword on her back.

“Are you supposed to be a zebra or a unicorn? Because you look like something Discord threw up,” she asked nonchalantly.

“Hey! That’s impolite. I can’t help the way I look, it just happens,” Selune responded.

“Well, I’m not sorry, but it’s the truth. You can’t be both a zebra and a unicorn. That’s just improper,” she complained.

Oh, she’s going to be blast isn’t she? Shira thought sarcastically to herself.

“The hell are you looking at?” Flash growled as she turned to Shira.

“Huh?”

“Hey, c’mon, you don’t have to be so blunt about it,” reasoned Tacitus.

“But it’s a matter of fact. I think every pony has the right to hear the veracity of any situation. Besides, honesty is the best policy, shouldn’t a hipster like you be familiar with that?”

“Excuse me!?” he exclaime.

“Oh, come now, there’s no need for conflict,” said a very old voice.

Out of nowhere, an earth pony stallion in a wheelchair rolled right between us. He had brown fur and tan mane and tail along with blue eyes. His mark, however, was covered up by his plaid blanket that draped over his lap.

Name: Iron Sted

Species: Earth Pony Stallion.

“How else are we supposed to cooperate in this program if all we’re going to do is bicker? What kind of team would that make us now?” he pondered.

“Huh?”

“What would you know you old geezer?” grumbled Flash.

“Ever heard of the phrase, if you have nothing nice to say don’t say anything at all?”

“Don’t live by it. Only a fool would actually believe in that policy,” she hissed.

“And only a bigger fool would insult their comrades, thus insulting this program, the elements of harmony and the princess herself. Where would that lead you?”

Flash let out a loud grumble and stormed off. Iron then wheels right over to Selune, Shira, and Tacitus.

“I apologize for her crude behavior. I don’t think we’ve been introduced. I am detective Iron Sted.”

“An honor to meet you detective,” replied Tacitus as he shook his hoof.

“Yeah, an honor!” spoke Selune following Tactus’s example.

Shira also shook his hoof as she scanned the area for any other faces she hadn’t met yet. She did spot Artemis and Chill Wind talking to each other in the corner. She couldn't help but become curious as to what the two Pegasai were discussing. She even started getting the idea that they may be spies sent here by some other kingdom to get info on the elements.

“Hmmm, nah,” Shira chuckled waving that idea away.

“What?” asked Tacitus.

“Huh? Oh, it’s nothing. I thought of something weird, but I ignored it.”

“Hey! What’s in the case?” wondered Selune as she examined metal Shira’s guitar case. “Do you have a really fancy guitar in there? Or maybe you actually have a super cool sword hidden in there and you’re just using the case as a cover to conceal your weapon so no pony gets any funny ideas?”

“Do you?” Iron inquired.

“No, it’s just a normal guitar,” she responded as she opened up the case revealing the guitar.

“Oh, it would’ve been super cool if you did have a sword in there,” Selune chirped.

“I’m not sure I’m cut out for sword play,” Shira admitted. Although she did wonder about what kind of weapon or magical ability she could use when she’s in an actual battle.

“Excuse me everypony!” called a familiar voice. Everyone turned to the stage with the podiums to see Spike standing in front of them.

“Hey, it’s the cute dragon kid! He’s so adorable, I want one!” Selune squeaked. “But I already have a pet.”

“Yes yes, it’s me again,” he said sheepishly. “The elements and Princess Twilight will now begin the opening ceremony to the program.”

“Aw yeah! About time! Show us the ladies!” yelled Spinout with much excitement.

“How about you show a little more respect for our rulers,” ordered Terra.

“Mind your own business grandma,” Spinout mocked which made Terra even more cross.

“Quiet you two,” spoke Crusher/Amber. “It’s starting.”

With that said, every looked forward and paid attention to the stage. One by one, each of the Elements of Harmony trotted out onto the stage and took their respected positions in front of their podiums. Everyone’s mouths dropped at the sight of the elements, as if this was their first time viewing them. For most of them, this was the first time meeting the six heroines from all of the stories told throughout Equestria. Finally, the Princess herself, took center podium and smiled down at all of the new recruits.

“Hello everypony. I am Princess Twilight Sparkle, and welcome to the New Guard Order. It’s a pleasure to meet you all,” she greeted with a smile.

Author's Note

Yet another fic I've started that I plan to make amazing :pinkiesmile: . Again, thanks to all of the members for the wonderful OC's. If you spot anything wrong with the fic, grammar or OC wise, please let me know and I'll be sure to fix the mistake. Also, if your OC was on the list but did not appear in this chapter, that just means that they'll appear in the next one, don't worry. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and next one is coming out soon. (Thanks to Wolfoftheforest for proofreading and editing this chapter)

Ch. 2

It was quiet in the meeting room for a while. All of the new recruits just stood there in awe as the actual Elements of Harmony were right in front of them. Shira looked to most impressed, seeing Celestia’s student running her own guard program. It wasn’t actually Celestia herself, but close enough for now. Everyone’s eyes were beaming and taking in their beauty. Shira looked to her left and noticed the two pegasai she saw earlier, Artemis and Chill Wind, were the only ones who didn’t looked amused. Rather, they looked more focused and concentrated, like they were expecting the Elements to look that way. She decided to shrug it off for now and pay attention to the elements.

“Hello everypony. I am Princess Twilight Sparkle, and welcome to the New Guard Order. It’s a pleasure to meet you all.”

“The pleasure is all mine,” responded Terra Lionmane as he bowed.

“A-Are we supposed to bow?” stuttered Grassy Fields nervously. She didn’t want to look bad in front of the Elements, so she followed Terra’s example.

“Geez, what’s with you two?” laughed Spinout.

Shira looked up at the Elements and noticed that Rainbow and Pinkie were secretly laughing to themselves, trying so hard to contain their chuckles.

“Oh my, so formal,” gasped Rarity.

“There’s no need for formalities. You may rise,” Twilight assured.

Both Terra and Grassy nodded and rose their heads. After that, Shira noticed a mix of different voices whispering to each other about the Elements.

“They’re a lot more stunning in real life,” whispered Selune to Shira.

“I’ll say,” Shira replied.

“Especially Ms. Sparkle,” added Tacitus.

“Oh, does somepony have a crush on the princess?” teased Selune. Tacitus’ face immediately bloomed into a bright red color and avoided eye contact.

“N-No. I was just commenting on how...uh…courtly our leader looks. That’s all. Hehehe.”

“Yeah, we believe you,” teased Shira. The group shared a small laugh and focused back on the Princess and the Elements while trying to ignore the other voices.

“So those are the mares who have saved Equestria on many occasions?”

“It seems like it.”

“I’ve heard many great things about these six.”

“Can they really take down an enemy with a single blast of their ‘friendship beam’?”

“I heard one of them eventually flew with the Wonderbolts.”

“I’d say Rarity is the hottest.”

“Didn’t one of them defeat a giant dragon just by staring at it?”

“I think so.”

“I wonder what kind of things w-w-we’ll get to do in this p-program.”

“I hope get to blow something up, hehehehe.”

“Short Fuse, no.”

“Ok, settle down everypony,” called out Twilight. “Now that we’re all here and settled, let’s ta-“

“Wait!” interrupted Pinkie Pie. “We can’t start yet.”

“What do you mean, Pinkie?”

“Everypony isn’t here yet.”

“What are you getting at?” wondered Applejack.

“We were supposed to start off with fourteen guard’s right? Well I only spot…one…two… twelve of them!”

“Huh?”

Twilight looked carefully at the “audience” below and recounted all of them. Her eyes grew when she realized that Pinkie was actually correct.

“She’s right. We do only have twelve guards.”

“How can that be?” wondered Rarity.

“Maybe they’re just a little tardy?” suggested Fluttershy. “I think we should wait for them.”

“Why? We already have a full house,” pointed out Rainbow.

“But still, nopony likes to feel left out.”

“Ok, we’ll wait for a little bit. But if we don’t start soon, then we’ll-“

Before she could say another word, the doors swung open and slammed into the walls. Everypony jumped at the loud noise, even the Elements. There were two figures spotted at the doors entrance, one tall and one short, though no one could tell what they looked like because their faces were hidden in the shadows. They stepped into the room where their features were more visible to the lighting in the room. The taller one was obviously an earth pony mare that looked rather young for her age.

Name: Khaddice Corset

Species: Earth Pony Mare

Not only did she look really young, she had a very peculiar look. Her long flowing silver-blonde mane and tail were normal, along with her violet fur coat, but she also wore an eerie gothic black and white dress. Most of the ponies didn’t know what to make of it. They didn’t focus too much on her gothic dress, mostly because they were too invested in her shimmering emerald eyes. She walked over to the far back left corner of the room. Her eyes shifted and she spotted a nearby chair. Out of nowhere, she pulled out a grey whip from her dress and reeled back.

CRACK!

Her whip snagged onto the chair and she yanked it on over to her. After she claimed it and took her seat, she concealed her whip and stored it back into her dress, and pulled out a piece of fudge and unwrapped it. She took a big bite out of it and licked her lips, as if no one was looking. Most of the new guard ponies were shocked by this new recruit, and felt somewhat uncomfortable about how she devoured her fudge in a very lustful manner. Shira and some of the other guards looked away awkwardly and paid attention to the other late recruit. This one, however, was harder to identify. They could all see that he was somewhere in his mid-teens, but the problem was, they had no idea what to make of him.

Name: Starsabre Jr.

Species: ???

Surprisingly, this one looked even stranger than the last one. It was like he was a mix breed between a changeling and a bat pony. He had a chitin like a changeling, four silver bat wings like a bat pony, but had silver fur puffs around his hooves and neck like a normal pony. Though, the fur around his neck looked more like a collar than actual fur. His white mane and tail was long and spiky and faded into a burgundy red color at the tips. The most bizarre thing about him, were his slit amber eyes

Shira tilted her head at this surprisingly young recruit. She suddenly felt an uneasy chill from him, as well as the other one. There was something not right about these two, but she couldn’t figure out what. The young recruit took a seat at the right end corner of the room, where no one could see him. He looked up and gave a small “Tsk” at everyone.

Shira looked back, and she noticed that most of the guards were giving him dirty looks. Eyebrows raised, uneasy stares, and avoiding eye contact.

Why is everypony staring at him like that? It’s kind of like how the other ponies used to stare at me, back in Canterlot. And who are these two? Why did I get that chill when they entered the room? Shira thought. There’s something not right here.

“I take it back, that guy looks like something that Discord vomited,” muttered Flash.

“Manners,” hissed Iron Sted.

“Oh, you must be our last recruits um…” Twilight levitated a scroll and began to scan it. “Khaddice Corset and Starsabre Jr.”

“That’s right,” giggled Corset and she licked her lips.

“Yeah,” jeered Starsabre.

“Hey, am I the only one getting weird vibes from those two?” whispered Rainbow.

“Rainbow Dash! Don’t be rude,” scold-whispered Rarity.

“I’m just saying. Bad news usually happens whenever ponies come in late. Like they’re some kind of terrible monster.”

“Beg pardon?” asked AJ.

“Enough, we have to start,” informed Twilight and she faced back to the crowd.

“Now that everypony’s here, let’s get started.”

“Woo!” exclaimed Spinout.

“Ok then. I’d like to welcome our finest guards, new and old, to this new program developed by both me and Celestia herself. This program is designed to help our guards improve their extraordinary abilities and to decide on which castle or which princess they would want to serve. Whether you’re a guard, an investigator, or a soldier of any kind you’re all welcomed here. Not only does it help you enhance your natural talents to the warrior status and to the position of the guard, but it will also determine the perfect system to help us defend Equestria from evil.”

“So here’s how we decided this here program is going to work,” continued Applejack. “We’ve decided that we’re going to have a set missions for yall to do during your stay here. Twelve of them, to be exact. We won’t say when a new mission will happen, so it’s best to be prepared.”

All the guards were taken back at this rule. They all grunted, gasped, and exchanged looks of confusion. They could understand that they would have to do some challenges, but not tell them when they were going to happen?

“What the?” started Shira.

“Why would you not tell us?” wondered Terra.

“Because it’s a surprise!” exclaimed Pinkie excitedly as confetti exploded behind her. “And everypony loves surprises!”

“I don’t,” grunted Starsabre in the corner. There was a bit of awkward silence after that.

“Anyway…let’s continue on,” spoke Rainbow. “These aren’t just ordinary missions, each one will test your strength and durability and will tell us if you’re ready to become an awesome fighter.”

“Physically and mentally,” added Twilight. “Each mission will be different from the last, and may not even involve something that you’re especially trained in. While one could be a ‘search and rescue’ mission another one could be solving a simple mystery. The purpose of this is to help you adapt to different situations. Whenever a new threat or problem comes, we’ll have to be fully prepared for it, because you never know what’s going to happen.”

“Makes sense,” Selune said.

“Indeed,” agreed Terra.

“Can’t go wrong there,” added Iron Sted.

“I’m hungry,” commented Short Fuse.

“However, it’s clearly obvious that we won’t get every mission done. Some of you might succeed while others might need a second chance. Not to mention that you can’t do them alone. So, in order to determine how many of you are ready to move on, we’ve decided to add a point system along with teams.”

More whispers and mumbles rose as she continued to speak the rules of the program.

“Point system?” wondered Flash.

“Teams?” added Artemis.

“Seeing how they’re only fourteen of ya, yall are gonna have to break up into seven teams of two,” spoke AJ. “I know it’s not much, but it’s what we got.”

“Each mission is worth ten points,” continued Twilight. “You must have at least a hundred points in order to graduate. Every time you succeed in a mission, you get ten points. However, just as you can gain points, you can also lose them. Whether it’s disobeying an order, going against the rules, or simply being disrespectful to us, it can seriously affect your outcome in the end.”

“May I ask a question?” spoke the bulk zebra, Crusher.

“Of course.”

“When exactly is ‘the end’?”

“The Princess and I have decided that the final day of the program will be August 23rd.”

August 23rd? That’s only a few months away, Shira thought to herself.

“One more?” he continued.

“Sure.”

“What happens if we don’t have enough points by the time this program is over?”

“Then it would mean that you won’t be able to move on and decide which Princess you want to serve. You would just have to repeat the program.”

The crowd was filled with even more gasps of perturbation. They covered their mouths from this news and their hearts started to beat abnormally. Even Shira didn’t like the sound of it.

If I don’t get a hundred points, then I won’t be able to serve Celestia! All of my training and hard work for nothing. What kind of program is this? Sweat was already beading down her forehead and her pupils were jittering. She shook her head violently in attempt to shake away the bad thoughts. No! Simply worrying about it won’t make it go away. I’ll have to try my best to make sure that doesn’t happen. I’m not going to let some new Princess and her set of rules get in the way of my destiny! I can do this!

“But you would have to do something really stupid in order to lose THAT many points,” chuckled AJ.

“Right now, just split up and decide who your new partners will be.”

With that said, everyone in the room started chatting among themselves and spreading out throughout the entire room like ants on a picnic. Shira got her head out of the clouds and searched around. She didn’t know who to pick. She looked left and right but couldn’t decide who would make a good partner.

She scanned the room and noticed that most of the ponies have already paired up. Selune had her arm around Terra’s neck, Grassy was timidly walking up to Crusher, Artemis was unsurprisingly chatting with Chill Wind again, and even Spinout and Short Fuse were bonking heads like jocks.

“Hey,” called out Tacitus. “You wanna partner up?”

“Huh?”

“Almost everypony else is taken. And even though we just met, I have a feeling that we might work well together and become really good friends,” he offered.

Shira rubbed her head deep in thought. She doesn’t even know this stallion and already he’s trying to make an effort, kind of similar to herself. He did make a valid point, almost everyone else was already with a partner. She couldn’t come up with a reason not to trust him.

“Alright, looks like I’ve got nothing to lose,” she chirped.

“Cool, so were partners?” he asked as he held out his hoof.

“Yeah!” She gladly shook it with no regrets.

“If you’ve already partnered up, then come up front to sign your names.”

Soon half the new guards walked up to Twilights podium to sign in their teams. Shira had high hopes for Tacitus as her partner. The only thing she hoped for was that he wouldn’t find out about her dark secret. Even though she vaguely remembers it and constantly doubts it, she hoped that no one would find out and that she could move on.

“Alright, I just signed our names,” informed Tacitus.

“Coolsauce.”

“Alright everypony! I’m going to read the teams,” announced Twilight. “Let’s see, team A is detective Iron Sted and Flash Cache, team B is Selune Darkeye and Terra Lionmane, team C Spinout and Short Fuse, team D Amb-I mean Crusher and Grassy Fields, team E is Artemis Featherclaw and Chill Wind, team F Tacitus and Shira Blitz, and finally team G Khaddice Corset and Starsabre Jr.”

“Looks like that’s everypony,” finsihed Rarity.

“Do you think we could change the team names, Twi?” asked Rainbow. “Those names are so boring.”

“This isn’t a contest, Rainbow.”

“Still, don’t you think it would be awesome if they had names for their teams? Even if each one only has two ponies?”

“Alright, we’ll discuss team names later. But for now,” she looked back at the guards. “It looks like everything worked out. We’ve discussed the program, its purpose, and picked duos. The only thing left is where you’re all going to stay.”

“Yeah, I was about to ask that. Are we supposed to find a place to sleep somewhere in the castle?” questioned Iron Sted.

“No, we already have everything figured out. Your sleeping quarters will be located in a building behind this castle. As well as training center and mess hall.”

“And I’ll be the cook! I’ll make sure you all get the tastiest snacks you’ve ever tasted!” chirped Pinkie. Some of the guards were a bit anxious about that, including Shira.

“Wait, you’ve already built us a place to stay?” wondered Shira.

“Eeyup,” responded AJ.

“Everypony, follow us.”

The Elements of Harmony got off the stage and started to lead everyone outside. All of the guards followed the Elements out of the castle and walked behind it. So far, all that could be spotted was an empty field. As they kept on trotting, they all noticed something coming into view. Pretty soon, they were met with a tall navy blue two story building, along with a longer horizontal one next to it, labeled “Mess Hall”.

Shira and the guards couldn’t believe their eyes, gasps could be heard all around, and they were most impressed. Shira was expecting some rusty old building, like the ones she slept in during her days in training, but this one was no rusty shack. It looked like it was brand new, the windows were clean, it was on stable ground, and it was even glimmering in the sun like Twilight’s castle. If anything, it looked more like a fancy hotel than sleeping quarters for guards.

“Whoa!”

“So cool.”

“Definitely looks better than the cabins we had to sleep in.”

“That’s where we’re staying?”

“I’m still hungry.”

“Amazing, isn’t it?” mused Rarity. “There’s no reason for our new guards to be living in some worn out cottages, so we had this place built instead.”

“The top floor will be your rooms,” continued Rainbow. “While the bottom floor will be your awesome training center.”

“Training center?” Most of the guards asked.

“Yeah, it’s where you’re going to train, Duh.”

“You built all of this?” mused Shira.

“No, all of this was created by my dear friend, Discord,” answered Fluttershy.

Most of the guard’s expectations suddenly flew out the window at the mention at that name. Even Shira felt a little nervous about her new home created by the god of chaos himself. She looked around and noticed most of the other recruits, including Tacitus, didn’t seem too impressed now.

“Hey! Do you seriously expect us to sleep in THERE!” exclaimed Artemis.

“I-Is there a problem?”

“Buck yeah, there’s a problem! Why should we stay in a place that sorry excuse for a deity created? Who knows what kind of disturbing things he has hidden in there!”

“Geez, what’s your problem?” retorted Rainbow.

“This creature is allowed to toy with the laws of nature as he pleases! You’re asking ME why I have a problem? Plus, how can you still trust him after he betrayed you? ”

“That’s all in the past now,” reasoned Twilight.

“That’s no excuse for easily forgiving him! If you ask me he should be chained up to rot in Tartarus along with Tirek!”

“HEY! That’s just too much! Cut it out!” Snapped Pinkie.

“Why should I?! I don’t mean to disrespect you or anything, but I can’t agree with these new sleeping quarters. I don’t care how nice it looks, I’d rather sleep in a cave.”

“How uncouth,” muttered Rarity.

“Well excuuuuuse me that I think beyond simple convenience!”

“Listen, Miss FeatherClaw! I understand that you still don’t trust Discord after everything’s he’s done, but forgiveness is the first step in fixing past mistakes. He’s truly sorry for what he did, he even built this incredible place for you all to live in to show it. Focusing on the past is not going to make it any better, we all need to move on, and being so blunt about it will just make it worse. Unless you want to get kicked out of the program before it even starts, I suggest you turn that attitude of yours around,” lectured Twilight.

Artemis just gritted her teeth and tried to hold back her next outburst. She then felt a hoof land on her shoulder, she swerved around and noticed it was Chill Wind giving her a firm nod. She was surprised that even he agreed with what Twilight had to say. She looked away and decided there was no point in fighting it anymore, it would just makes things more difficult.

“Fine, whatever,” she grunted. “But I’m still going to keep my guard up.”

“Very well then. Let’s move on.”

The Elements began to show the recruits around the place. They guided them through the mess hall, the training center, and even their rooms. When they got to the second floor, the Elements were about to make their leave.

“Alright, now you know where you’ll be sleeping, eating, and whatever else. This concludes our overview of the program and what we’ll be doing. Each room is big enough for two ponies, so you and your teams will have to decide which rooms will be yours. We hope you will enjoy your stay and to see your full potential. Your first mission will begin soon, so be prepared.”

With that, Twilight teleported herself and her friends out of the building in a single flash. Not knowing what to make of it, Shira and the others decided to spread out and pick out there rooms. Shira was about to enter through a door at the end of the hall, when someone else beat her to it. Starsabre rudely bumped into her and stood in front of the door she was about to open.

“This is my room,” he declared.

“Ok, geez.” She soon recognized who he was, the same colt with the strange changeling chitin and bat pony wings. “Hey, you’re that foal who came in late.”

“Yeah, and you’re the typical emo mare who carries her guitar everywhere,” he shot back.

“Hey, I am NOT an emo. This is just how I got my mane cut, alright. And so what If I like to carry my guitar? No need to be rude.”

“Whatever,” he scoffed.

“Look, I don’t want to be enemies. Let’s just start over, I’m Shira Blitz,” she introduced as she held out her hoof. However, instead of shaking it, Starsabre just swatted it away.

“Starsabre Jr. And don’t get the wrong idea. I didn’t come here to make friends and crap. I have no intention to participate in team bonding or learning about friendship. So if you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay outta my way.”

Without saying anything else, Starsabre turned around and shut the door behind him, leaving a very irritated Shira.

“What’s his problem? I knew this generation was different, but I didn’t think they would be downright uncivil. He’s so young for somepony to join the guard.”

“I know, right?”

“Gah!” She swerved around and notice Tacitus smiling at her.

“Don’t let him get to you. I bet he’s just struggling to fit in since he’s the youngest here.”

“Are you sure it isn’t because of the slit eyes and bat wings?”

“Hey, C’mon don’t say that. I bet he’ll come around sooner or later.”

“I don’t know.”

“Let’s go, I found us a room.”

Shira gladly followed Tacitus to their new sleeping area. When they entered the room, Shira’s jaw dropped to the ground. The room was rather neat and tidy and had a lot of leg room. There were beds on each side and even had a small work desk. The desk was already filled with some of Tacitus’ books and scrolls and Shira found a perfect spot for her guitar in the corner.

“These are our sleeping quarters?” wondered Shira.

“I know, cool right? They’re more like dorm rooms to me.”

“Awesome!”

Shira trotted over to the left bed and plopped her tired body on it, she sunk into the mattress and had a hard time believing how strangely comfortable it was.

“Having fun?” teased Tacitus.

Shira nodded ‘yes’ and let out a relaxed sigh. “I think I’m going to enjoy this new program.”

I just hope Princess Twilight is just as solemn and noble like her mentor.

Back at the castle, Twilight and her friends were in their throne room and going over the different challenges they had planned for their new guards. While they were doing that, they were also discussing about which guards showed the most promise and which ones they personally liked.

“Well that went well, and we’ve got ourselves a nice selection of recruits,” commented Applejack.

“I don’t know about you girls, but I’m very fond of that Terra Lionmane. He seems so imposing, just like a real knight,” admitted Rarity.

“You mean the stallion in the golden armor who’s mostly likely going to end up like all the other guards, who stand outside doing nothing?” wondered Rainbow. “Boring! Spinout, on the other hoof, looks like a pretty cool stallion. But even with those huge wings of his, I bet he still couldn’t beat me in a race.”

Everypony in the room replied with blank stares.

“I kind of like Tacitus,” spoke Pinkie. “Ooo! I also like Short Fuse, Flash Cache, Selune, Crusher, Chill Wind, Iron Sted, Artemis-“

“Ok, let’s move on.”

“Um, Grassy Fields looks interesting to me.”

“Really Fluttershy? Don’t take this the wrong way, but she’s kind of like a unicorn version of you. No offense.”

“Oh, none taken Rainbow Dash. But I’m sure she’ll surprise us at some point. Maybe we just need to give her some time.”

“What do you think of our new guards Twi?” asked AJ.

“Well, they do show a lot of promise. But…”

“Yeah?”

“It’s just…well…”

“What is it, Twilight?”

“I got this strange feeling during the welcoming assembly today, and I think it came from some of our guards.”

“Say what now?” asked Pinkie.

“I don’t know how to explain it, but when I passed by these three,” she revealed three photos to her friends. One photo of Khaddice Corset, another one of Starsabre, and the last one belonging to Shira Blitz. “I just got this uncanny chill down my back. I don’t know what it is, but I feel like there’s something not right about these three.”

Her friends all shared looks of concern and apprehension. They just got their first group of guards and they already have a bad feeling about some of them. Rainbow already knew something was up with the other two, but she didn’t think that somepony like Shira would be hiding something. Twilight just looked down on the guards photos and hoped that this program wasn’t a mistake. What was Celestia thinking?

Just who are these three ponies? There’s something not right here. Why did I get that chill? I’ll have to keep an extra close eye on these three. I just hope they won’t put us, as well as Equestria, in danger.

Author's Note

So ends another chapter. Here are the different teams/duos for the program in case you missed them:

Team A: Iron Sted & Flash Cache
Team B: Selune Darkeye & Terra Lionmane
Team C: Spinout & Short Fuse
Team D: Amber Belle/Crusher & Grassy Fields
Team E: Artemis Featherclaw & Chill Wind
Team F: Shira Blitz & Tacitus
Team G: Khaddice Corset & Starsabre Jr.

I hope this chapter is to everyone's liking and that I got everyone's OCs down right. Let me know if you've spotted any mistakes with your OCs and I'll be sure to fix them. Also, I'm REALLY Sorry it so long to update this chapter, I was busy working on other things. Mostly school work, other stories, and other personal things. I'll try to work on this story more and the next chapter should be out soon.

Word Association Game

“Greetings Everypony! I am Princess Twilight Sparkle! The Princess of Friendship and co-founder of the New Guard Order,” announced Twilight. “So far we’ve got some promising new guards, both experienced and freshly out of training. Each one is very unique in their own way, from the noble Terra Lionmane to the mysterious Chill Wind. I for one, am looking forward to seeing these guards in action and to show us what they’re capable of.”

“Our first mission is about to start soon,” continued Fluttershy. “But before we can do that, we all decided that it would be best to, um…” she paused as she struggled to find the right words.

“We’ve decided to play a little game before we start our new program,” assisted Rarity.

“I wouldn’t really say a game, more like an exercise of sorts,” mentioned Applejack.

“A word association game to help give us an idea of what our new guards are like, before we officially start the missions,” added Rainbow Dash. “Wasn’t my idea.”

“Each guard will be going once and in a random order, so we have no idea who will be starting or who will finish. This is going to be interesting,” continued Spike.

“Now, to kick things off, let’s start with the Princess’ name herself, Celestia,” finished Twilight.

“Let’s get this game started!” chirped Pinkie as she brought out her party cannon out of thin air. “3-2-1-GO!” With that, the cannon fired a mix of confetti and streamers everywhere and starting the game…..

“If its Celestia, then my word is ancient,” began Tacitus.

“When I think of ancient, I think of grandma,” grumbled Starsabre.

“Well if its grandma, my word is old,” spoke Flash Cache.

“If you say old, I say young,” added Iron Sted.

“If the word is young, then I’d say Miss Rarity,” snickered Spinout.

“When I hear Miss Rarity, I say passion,” continued Terra Lionmane.

“Passion? I’d say memories!” chirped Selune Darkeye.

“Memories huh? Then mine is wild,” replied Artemis Featherclaw calmly.

“If you say wild, then I think of excitement,” spoke Khaddice Corset lustfully.

“I-If the word is e-excitement, then I’d s-say botany,” stuttered Grassy Fields.

“When I hear botany, I don’t know, I’d say ‘BOOM!’” yelled Short Fuse enthusiastically.

“If it’s ‘BOOM’, then I’ll go with battlefield,” added Chill Wind deadpanned.

“When you say battlefield, I think of warrior,” stated Crusher.

“If its warrior, then I’d say,” paused Shira Blitz.

“NEW GUARD ORDER!”

Author's Note

Hope you enjoyed this little omake. Thanks to all OC creators/users for helping out with the game. Got most of the inspiration for this bit from this. The next real chapter will be out as soon as possible. But, for the time being, here are some pics of some of the new OC guards in the fic. Drawn by the very talented Feather Flyer.

Here's a pic of Chill Wind:

Amber "Crusher" Belle:

Grassy Fields:

and Short Fuse:

Ch. 3

Another opening song for this chapter. Because, why not?

It was 5:30 in the morning and the sun was barely rising, all the homes in Ponyville looked like silhouettes and the air was freezing outside. Shiras eyes twitched and fluttered open. She slowly rose up from her comfy bed. Once she was up, Shira stretched her limbs until they cracked and let out a big loud yawn. She rubbed her eyes and looked at her little clock on the dresser. It also read 5:30 am, just as she thought. She peaked out the window and noticed that the sun hasn’t even risen above the fields yet.

“Looks like I’ve gotten used to the early wake up calls from camp,” she said to herself as she rubbed her eyes some more. She looked over to her partner, Tacitus, who was still sound asleep in his bed across from her, snoring up a storm.

“How did I sleep through that?”

She shrugged it off and leapt out of her bed. She tiptoed towards her door and made sure not to wake her snoring roommate.
After she exited her room and shut the door, she made her way out of the building. She was outside of her living quarters and quietly closed the door behind her. Once she touched the cold and hard ground, she immediately started galloping into the distance.

She jogged all around Ponyville, from Sugar cube Corner, to Sweet Apple Acres, to the Carousal Boutique, everywhere. She enjoyed the morning breeze flowing through her face and mane as she ran. Eventually she stopped for a water break and then continued on with her morning. She enjoyed the sight of the blue and orange sky she would see in the morning, it just looked so beautiful to look at, as well as run under. The only thing that she could think about was the whole program and its missions.

Today is our first mission. I think. C’mon, they said that it would start soon. But I doubt it would start this soon. Would it? She thought to herself. Is it starting now or never? Hey, that would make for an interesting song.

“Morning!”

Shira turned her head around to see who called out to her. She was surprised to see Terra, without his armor, was running right behind her. Terra gained speed and was soon running right beside Shira.

“Hey…Terra right?” asked Shira.

“Yeah. And you’re Shira, correct? One of the mares who came in late?”

“Uh, yeah I think. And you called me out on it.”

“Yeah, sorry about that,” he apologized as he ran.

“No worries,” she replied.

“So, you enjoy morning runs too,” he panted.

“Well, back at camp, we ran every morning before the sun rose and I sort of gotten used to it,” she admitted.

“One of the struggles to becoming a guard.”

“I’ll say. But I actually don’t mind running in the mornings now. Especially if it’s this cool out.” She started to pick up speed as more of the cool morning wind blew in her face, cooling off any sweat she was dripping from her brow.

“Yeah, it is rather nice out today.”

The two continued to run with each other as more light began to shine in the sky and makings it’s war towards the rest of the town.

“You excited about our first mission?”

“Is it today?” wondered Terra.

“Maybe. The elements did say it would start soon.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if it started today.”

“Me neither. I’m getting pumped up!”

“Just remember. These missions are important to us. It’s good to have some fun, but don’t get too carried away when some of these missions are meant to be taken seriously,” Terra advised.

“I know that. Trust me, I know when to get serious.”

A loud bird screech echoed above them. She looked up and noticed a big phoenix soaring right above them, leaving a trail of light in its path. Shira grew a big smile, she was very amazed.

“Whoa! A Phoenix! So cool!” she exclaimed. “I want one! It’s so pretty!”

“Yeah, real serious,” chuckled Terra as the firebird flew right next to him. “This is my bird, Fenix. You met him at the ceremony.”

“Oh yeah!” chirped Shira, as she remembered that he did have a similar phoenix with him when they first met.

The two, and the phoenix, continued their morning run. After a few more miles, they all made it back to their living quarters. They were all resting by the front door and panting like crazy. Terra’s pet bird rested in his shoulder as he took a breather.

“Well, that was a good run,” panted Terra.

“Yeah. Now I need a shower,” added Shira.

“Aw, don’t you too look all cute and sweaty,” said a voice.

Both Shira and Terra jumped at the sudden voice. Shira spotted a nearby tree near the entrance and noticed a familiar blue and green big-winged Pegasus resting on a branch. Spinout was nonchalantly laying back in the tree reading a Power Ponies comic, looking down on the two ponies.

“Spinout?” wondered Shira.

“The one and only.”

“What are you doing up there?”

“It’s highly unlikely for somepony like you to wake up early for a morning jog,” added Terra.

“What can I say, my body works in strange ways,” he shrugged. “Sometime it will let me sleep in until I feel like dying, and others it won’t leave me alone until I’ve woken up. It’s really weird.”

“What kind of explanation is that?” asked Shira.

“Mine.”

“What are you really doing up there?” demanded Terra.

“I told you Mr. Formal, I just felt like waking up early today. Plus, I’d figure I’d catch up on my reading.”

“That’s a Power Ponies comic,” pointed out Shira.

Spinout flipped his book to look at the cover. He then looked down on the ponies below.

“Don’t judge me.”

“Too bad,” laughed Shira.

“Anyway!”

He leapt out of the tree and landed on the ground, but it wasn’t exactly a perfect landing. He lost balance once his hooves touched the earth and began to wobble like a broken wagon.

“Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!” he exclaimed as his legs struggled to stay still. They kept on wiggling until all the weight was left on one side. He fell on his haunches while Shira and Terra looked down on him.

“A little rusty on your hooves?” teased Shira.

“I do better when I’m in the air,” he corrected as he picked himself up. “Anyway, did you two hear? Our first mission is supposed to be today.”

“What?” asked a surprised Shira.

“You don’t know that,” spoke Terra.

“Yes, I do! I overheard the elements yesterday planning to throw our first mission at us tomorrow. Which is today!”

“Our first mission so soon? I knew it!”

“He could be bluffing, Shira,” assured Terra. “I’ve dealt with ponies like these back at the academy. They always spread lies just to throw some newcomers off.”

“I assure you, I’m not bluffing. Do I look like a deceiver?” He asked with an innocent smile.

“Well,” started Shira.

“Sort of,” finished Terra.

“You don’t have to believe me if you don’t want to, but don’t blame me when it does happen today. Anyway, I’ll leave you two sweaty birds alone,” he chuckled as he made his leave.

“We were just jogging together!” she yelled at him.

“Just ignore him,” advised Terra.

“Is our first mission really today?”

“I don’t know. But it doesn’t hurt to be prepared just in case.”

The two ponies then made their way back inside and back to their rooms. As they were walking, Shira couldn’t help but wonder about what Spinout said.

Our first mission really is today? This is so soon. Might as well make the best of it.

A few hours later the rest of the guards woke up and began their day. Everypony was on their way to take their morning showers. They reached the shower area on the first floor near the training center and when they all entered the room, they were far from surprised.

When they entered the showers, they were all expecting to be one room for the stallions and the other for the mares. However, that wasn’t the case. They all entered the room to find one big, open area. They were all standing in an empty square rooms with about fifteen showers attached to the walls. Three of the four walls had their own set of shower facets and handles, five for each wall until it all added up to fifteen. The group was surprised and confused, they didn’t know how to react.

“Um, where’s the mare’s room?” wondered Selune Darkeye.

“I didn’t see another shower room,” added Spinout.

“I think we have to share this one,” deduced Flash Cache.

This caused an array of confused mutters and whispers among the guard ponies.

“M-Mixed showering? Who came up with that?” exclaimed Tacitus who was growing a shade of red on his face.

“Don’t you remember?” asked Shira.

The Previous Night

The elements were standing in front of both entrances of the training center and the showers and explaining the situation to the large group.

“Now, in front of you is where you will be training and/or showering in your free time,” Began Twilight. “On your right is the training center, which we will go over later. On the left, is the shower room. However, because of the lack of space, we couldn’t afford to create two separate showers. So, you will all have to share the same one.”

“Huh?!” most of the yelled. They were all taken back by this.

“What do you mean ‘lack of space’!? I thought you said Discord made this place,” snarled Artemis Featherclaw.

“Yes, well, for whatever reason he decided to only include one showering room,” admitted Twilight.

“Figures,” sighed Terra.

“Look, in the meantime, you will all have to share the showers. We’ll sort this out with Discord,” assured Twilight. “Eventually.”

Present

“Oh right, I forgot,” chuckled Tacitus.

“I don’t know about you guys, but I don’t mind,” giggled Short Fuse. Everypony soon glared at him or slowly sidestepped away from him.

“Come now, everypony,” spoke Iron Sted as he rolled in on his wheelchair. “We shouldn’t let a small situation like this take up most of our day. So what if we have to share the same shower room. Most of us are already naked so why should this be any different?”

Most ponies in the room whispered to each other agreeing to his statement. It’s not like this is a trial that puts Equestria at risk or anything.

“Yeah. We’re all adults here right?” agreed Terra.

“Eh,” sighed Shira.

After more discussing among each other, they all decided to share the shower room. All of the showers were turned on and everypony was starting to clean themselves. Iron Sted had a stool he could sit on while he showered and the rest stood and took their time. All while both Tacitus and Shira stood there like stiffs as warm water soaked their bodies. Unable to move and completely red faced.

One awkward experience later, the rest of the ponies decided to get some breakfast at the mess hall next door. Shira sat at a table all by herself, trying to process the fact that she just showered with other mares and stallions for the first time.

“Mind if we sit here?”

Shira turned around and noticed Selune, Terra, and Tacitus with their breakfast on their trays.

“No, go ahead.”

The three took their seats and ate their breakfast in silence. Shira could tell that this was their first time as well.

“So, that was an interesting experience, huh?” spoke Terra.

“Yep,” replied Shira. She didn’t want to remember in full detail what it was like.

“Here’s to our first awkward moment together,” joked Selune as she raised her glass of orange juice.

The others did the same and tapped glasses. They continued to eat as Shira had a lot of things in mind. Not only of the new shower rules, but also the first mission rumor, wondering if she’ll survive this program, and how her family is back at home. She knew her mother was doing fine but her brother had moved away to college a few years back. It was the only thing that popped into her head to take her mind off of things. While they were eating, the doors of the cafeteria flew wide open. Everyone turned and noticed Spike was standing at the entrance.

“Attention everypony!” announced Spike. “Once you’re done with breakfast, come out and meet us at the edge of the forest. You’re first mission is about to start!”

With that, he took his leave. Silence entered the room, most of the guards couldn’t believe their ears. They were all motionless.

“Knew it!” yelled Spinout.

Later

Everypony was exiting the cafeteria and making their way towards the edge of the forest. Most of them couldn’t believe that their first mission would start so soon. While Terra and Shira couldn’t believe that Spinout was actually right. Each of the guards had brought their gear with them. Terra had his golden armor on, Chill Wind was carrying his spear, Crusher carried a large amount of heavy weapons on his back, and even Shira brought her metal guitar case with her.

“Our first mission is today?” queried Tacitus. “Isn’t this a little soon? We haven’t even trained yet.”

“Well most of us are already experienced, so it should be no problem,” shrugged Selune.

“Yeah, but what about the recruits that are fresh out of the academy who have no experience whatsoever? I mean me!” exclaimed Tacitus as he pointed to himself.

“Don’t worry, as long as you remember your training from the academy you should be fine,” said Shira.

“But I didn’t really sign up to become a guard who fights monsters, I signed up to become an investigator to fight crime!” he admitted.

“Oh, then you’re screwed,” teased Terra.

“Dude!”

They all laughed but still felt sorry for the young stallion. They knew not everypony here was exactly a guard and they figured Tacitus wouldn’t be the fighter type.

“Don’t worry. I’m sure this first mission won’t be that hard,” reasoned Shira.

“Congratulations.” They all turned and noticed Starsabre Jr. glaring at them as he walked. “You’ve been jinxed. When you’re all resting easy in the belly of an Ursa Major, you have emo guitar girl to thank.”

“Hello to you too, Starsabre,” replied Shira deadpanned.

“Hey who invited you here?” snapped Selune.

Before he could answer, they found themselves at their destination. All fourteen guards came to a halt and stood at the entrance at the Everfree Forest, where the elements were waiting there patiently.

“Good morning everpony,” greeted Twilight. “I hope you had a pleasant day so far, because your first mission begins today!”

The guard ponies weren’t really surprised by this anymore, they just stood there anxiously.

“Tough crowd,” remarked Applejack.

“Anyway, we decided that your first mission should be simple and easy to follow.”

“A race through the forest!” blurted out Rainbow. Everypony’s heads tilted at her outburst.

“A race?” wondered Flash.

“Through the forest?” added Crusher.

“In a way, yes,” explained Twilight. “You will all race with your teams to reach the finish line at the end of the forest. And that finish line, is at the Castle of the Two Sisters.”

The guards could not believe their ears, their eyes were wide with anticipation. They had to run through the forest to reach the abandoned castle where Celestia and Luna used to rule.

“Whoa! No way! Cool!” they all exclaimed.

The Castle of the Two Sisters? This is so cool! Now I can see where Celestia used to rule Equestria. Maybe there are hidden secrets there I can unlock, thought Shira.

“Now, this is a team race, so if you and your partner make it to the castle together you will earn ten points each,” continued Rarity.

“But if you leave them behind or arrive at the castle by yourselves, you’ll only get half points,” added Rainbow.

“No pony gets left behind,” spoke Twilight firmly. “As you may know, the forest is filled with dangerous creatures and deadly plants. So if you feel the need to defend yourself, don’t hesitate to do so.”

“B-but if you could be gentle with the wildlife, that would be great,” softly spoke Fluttershy.

“You will have exactly six hours to navigate yourselves through the forest and reach the finish line.”

“Only six? That doesn’t sound so bad,” said Spinout.

“The forest is a lot bigger than it looks. Don’t underestimate it,” insisted Twilight.

“And whoever gets there first will earn double points!” informed Rainbow.

The group gasped at the possible outcome. They couldn’t believe they would throw out points like that. Especially Shira.

I will win this thing!

“This will be easy,” chuckled Artemis.

“Everpony, take yer places!” ordered Applejack.

The ponies gathered in a straight horizontal line at the entrance of the forest. Each of the teams gathered side by side, staring intently into the forest they were about to enter. They could already feel the unsettling breeze flowing from within.

“I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die,” muttered Grassy Fields.

“You’re not going to,” assured Crusher.

“Why did you bring that?” Starsabre asked Shira, pointing to her guitar case. “You going to play the monsters a song until they die?”

“You’ll see,” she retorted.

“On your mark!” yelled Spike as he raised a green flag. “Get set!”

“Go!” Pinkie’s part canon shot confetti everywhere and the blast made Spike yelped into a tree.

Regardless, the ponies took off and ran straight into the forest. Except for Short Fuse, who was still standing at the starting line picking his ear with the tip of his hoof. He soon noticed everypony had started.

“Oh, we’re going now? Ok.”

With that, he ran off to catch up with his teammate, Spinout. The elements stared off into the forest until the recruits couldn’t be spotted anymore. Twilight formed a small grin on her face, she had full confidence that they would all make it out alive.

Author's Note

Sorry it's been a while. I was just busy with stuff. I said I would get a new chapter out and I did it. I hoped you enjoyed this little chapter and I plan to get the next one out real soon. Let me know what you think. Thanks.

Ch. 4

Shira was racing through the forest with Tacitus close behind her. She could feel herself getting tired already, panting endlessly for her second run of the day. She knew cardio was good for her but was starting to regret her morning jog. It wasn’t like she could’ve skipped it even if she wanted to. She looked to her right and noticed some other guards gaining speed. Crusher was only a few feet away but was starting to run ahead of Shira, with Grassy Fields following close to him. She was sweating a lot, for a moment Shira thought that the sweat forming on her face looked like tears. She turned to her left and saw Selune and Terra were also close by too. She could barely see them through the passing trees and bushes but still saw that they were about to pass her as well. She didn’t give up yet.

Gotta get those points! Gotta win this program! She thought.

“Hey wait up!” Tacitus called.

Shira came to a halt and swerved around. She waited for her partner to catch up, and when he did he was panting more than a tired dog.

“Why….do you….run…..so……fast,” he coughed. “Oh Luna.

“C’mon! You can’t be out of energy now!” she exclaimed. “I already went for a jog today and I’m still holding on. Sort of.”

“I’m not exactly,” he breathed. “Made for running.”

“Ya gotta keep up or else we won’t make it,” she reminded him.

“I’m sorry. I don’t practice cardio a lot.”

“Well, you better get a move on, or else-“

Growl!

They both froze at the loud noise. They could hear something moving in the nearby bushes. Rustling branches and faint snarling was the only thing that filled their ears. They were alone with whatever mysterious creature was hiding in the bushes. They both hoped it was only a squirrel.

“Or else whatever’s in those bushes will eat us!” panicked Shira.

“I’m convinced!”

Tacitus sped off leaving a small breeze in his trail. Shira could feel the wind nearly messing up her mane.

“Hey!” Shira sprinted after her partner and far away from the growling sound.

Soon after they departed, Short Fuse came running out of the bushes, panting from all the catching up he had to do.

“I-Is somepony here?” he panted. He then heard a monstrous growl coming from his stomach. “I knew I should’ve eaten more for breakfast.”

Meanwhile, Spinout was having the time of his life above the forest. His wings were spread out and was soaring gracefully above the trees. He had a wide smile of his face and was going faster than a jet plane. The wind hit his face like a paper fan, but he didn’t care.

“Yahoo!” he exclaimed.

He zoomed by tree after tree, leaving a large gust of wind in his trail. Whenever he got close to the branches, he would flap his wings once and be shot right back up into the air and above the forest. He would eventually come across some bigger trees. He approached one now and slowly leaned to the left. He dodged it just in time. He looked down and noticed all the other ponies racing down below and laughed.

“Haha! Good thing I’m such an awesome flyer, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to gain such an awesome and beautiful advantage!”

He looked forward and looked down at the forest below. He could see nothing but trees for miles. He felt very proud. With his birds eye view, he could find the castle in no time. He searched for a while but couldn’t spot anything that looked like a castle, or anything that stood out in the slightest. He looked all around and saw nothing but trees. Trees, trees, and more trees. Spinout’s brow started to furrow and his smile slowly decreased. Annoyed he couldn’t spot the castle for miles, he flew off to search elsewhere.

Chill out was speeding through the forest on hoof. He decided to wait for the right moment to use his wings. His spear didn’t weigh him down and he made sure to have it ready when the time was right. He lost his partner, Artemis, along the way but kept his focus on the forest. He suddenly heard a loud snarl and came to a stop.

He found himself in an open area surrounded by bushes and trees. There were rustles in the bushes and the strange growls kept on getting louder. He never took his eyes off of the bushes around him, he knew something was there. Waiting, stalking, ready to attack. What he saw next was bad, a pair of gold eyes glowing in the bushes. Pretty soon, he became surrounded by glowing eyes. Not showing any fear on his face, he flapped his wings until he was floating in the air. He pulled up his black scarf until it covered the lower half of his face. He equipped himself with his spear and held it tight within his hooves. He was now ready to fight.

Without warning, a large Timberwolf leapt through the bushes and swiped at Chill. He flew back and countered with a swipe of his spear. He struck the Timberwolf’s paw, but that didn’t stop him. The Timberwolf kept on leaping but Chill dodged every attack and countered every time. He heard more growls coming from behind. Timberwolves started leaping out of the bushes from all different directions, one by one.

Chill Wind was not afraid. He jabbed, stabbed, swiped, dodged, and slashed any wolf that attacked him. His reflexes were incredible, he even stabbed a wolf that was about to pounce right behind him. He spun his spear and kept on slicing and dicing, slashing off little chunks of wood with every strike. His expression never changing from focused. Then, one wolf came out of nowhere and swiped the spear right out of his hooves. It knocked it over to the side so that Chill couldn’t reach it. Chill grew a stern face, he needed to retrieve his spear. His attacker kept on swiping and slashing at him with it’s claw. Snarling every time.

The Timberwolf attempted to chomp down on the red and blue Pegasus, only to be stopped by him just in time. Chill caught the wolf’s jaw before it could land the finishing blow. He struggled to keep the wolf’s jaw from closing on him, it was even forcing him to the ground. He flapped his wings some more in order to stay in the air for a little longer, he was starting to sweat. All he could see was the Timberwolf’s wooden daggers and throat, and all he could smell was its foul breath. He began to think that his scarf wasn’t covering his muzzle enough.

“I think I need a better mask,” he grunted. “It’s not helping block your revolting breath.”

The wolf just growled in return. He looked past the wolf and spotted his spear in the ground. He had to make a move. He gathered up his strength and prepared himself. Once he felt the tip of his hoof touch the ground, he let go of its jaw and flew straight for its neck. He wrapped his hooves around the wooden beast’s neck and held on tight. With a powerful scream, he lifted the wolf right off of the ground and flipped it’s on his back. It lost a few branches, but the force was not enough to break the wolf.

The predator soon squirmed back up to it’s legs and spotted Chill flying to his spear. It wasn’t going to let him get away that easy. It started to sprint after Chill. The pegaus was only a few feet away from his weapon. With one final flap of his wings, he zoomed by and yanked his spear right out of the ground. The Timberwolf leapt at Chill with its jaw open. However, that was a mistake. Chill spun around just in time and slammed his spear right into his attacker’s eye. The Timberwolf wailed in agony and shook it’s head to try to get the impaled spear out of its eye.

Chill wasn’t done yet, he flew up into the sky and got a bird’s eye view. Once he was several feet in the air, he sky dived. He was aiming right for the Timberwolf he just impaled. At the last moment, he spun around and dive kicked his spear. His dive attack forced the spear to fire right through the Timberwolf’s head, causing it to explode with branches and twigs everywhere. The spear flew another Timberwolf, impaling it onto a nearby tree. The wolf on the tree soon collapsed into a pile of twigs.

Chill landed on the ground and retrieved his spear once more, yanking it from the tree. He floated and started to clean the sap off his spear. He turned towards the two wolves he just brutally killed, not changing his expression one bit. One wolf dead, another without a head. He landed on the ground and decided to bow to the deceased wolves.

“Forgive me,” he said.

He then turned towards the other Timberwolves, who just growled at him angrily. Seeing no time to rest, he floated to the air and readied his spear once more.

Rainbow Dash saw the entire thing up above where nopony could see her. Her jaw dropped and her pupils the size of needle-points. She couldn’t believe what she just witnessed, and now she can never un-see it. She flew off before she could witness another bloody, or tree-sappy, fight.

“Oh my Celestia, that was brutal!” she exclaimed.

She was about to fly off to the finish line to inform Twilight on how some of her guards were doing, until she spotted something else. From high in the sky, she could see Selune heading for a huge cave.

Selune was running through the forest desperately trying to find her partner and friend. They also got separated along the way and now she felt like she was completely lost. She had no idea where she was going.

“Terra! Where are you?” she called out. “Is anypony else here? Tacitus? Shira?”

Nopony answered, and Selune wasn’t paying attention to where she was going and ran right into the large cave. She soon noticed that everything had become darker and came to a stop. It felt really cold and damp inside. She turned around to find the opening.

“Huh, guess I wondered into a cave,” she said to herself.

Then something caught her eye. A small glimmer caught her attention and she turned around. There, right behind her, was a huge pile of gems. Her jaw dropped at the sight of it. She couldn’t believe what she was looking at. A whole large pile of gems and crystals of all colors, red, blue, green, yellow, just sitting there glimmering in the cave. They were just so shiny.

“Jackpot!” Selune yelled.

She sprinted towards the large pile. When she reached the pile she was already filling her hooves with gems. She had hardly seen so many in her life in one place. It was too hard to believe. She didn’t even know how to carry most of them.

“If only I had my bag with me,” she said cheerfully.

She was just going crazy over the sight, grabbing one gem after the other. Until, she noticed one was different. Her happy smile soon descended once she spotted a particular gem. This one was big and green, but the strange thing about it was it had a bite mark on it. Selune lifted it up with her magic to examine it. She squinted at the sight of the bite.

“Why would a gem have a bite mark?”

Her eyes suddenly shrunk and her smile completely gone once she realized what this meant.

“Uh-oh.”

She felt a warm breath over her shoulder. It had suddenly become much more humid in the cave. She slowly turned around to see who it was.

Oh please just let this be a secret sauna she thought to herself.

She turned around and was disappointed at what it really was. Looming over Selune, was a big, cross, green dragon. It was huge, slender, and growled at Selune. The mare didn’t have any words for her own. She simply put the bitten gem back into the pile. She then let out a sheepish smile.

“Hehehe. Uh, hi,” she said.

“What are you doing in my cave?” snarled the dragon.

“I got lost,” she admitted.

“First another dragon comes in here and eats my gems, now a unicorn zebra is here trying to steal them?”

“First of all, I’m not a zebra. I’m just a normal unicorn,” she corrected. “Second, I just got lost. And I’ll be making my way out, thank you very-“

“I don’t think so,” interrupted the dragon.

He then opened his mouth and let out a large breath of fire. The fire was aiming right towards Selune. The flames soon engulfed her, seemingly burning her to a crisp. Once the fire died down, there was nothing more than a burned spot in the ground. The dragon grinned at his kill, but soon his grin disappeared once he heard the sound of running hoof steps. He turned around to see Selune trying to make a run for it.

The dragon wasn’t going to have that and shot fire from his mouth once more. The flames blocked Selunes only way out. She stopped at the flames and turned around. She saw the huge dragon about to perform another attack.

“Alright, I guess we’re doing this,” Selune said as a small smile appear on her face.

The dragon shot more fire from his mouth but Selune dodged it. Every time the shot fire at her Selune dodged it every time. Left and right, left and right again. She just kept on going. It was then she felt like she had to perform one of her signature moves. A purple aura soon engulfed Selune. The dragon looked confused by this and tilted his head. Selune then sidestepped to the right, but once she did another Selune stayed in place. The dragon was shocked by this, he was seeing two of the same pony now.

“What?” he exclaimed.

The two Selunes then jolted in opposite directions. They were both running to both sides of the dragon. One Selune shot a magical beam at the dragon’s face while the other launched his own gems at him. The dragon was being hit on both sides, he couldn’t decide which one to attack. He decided to swing his tail and hit both. However, they both jumped up in time. They both bounced off of the cave walls and shot themselves right for the dragon. One Selune left hook the dragon while the other spun kick.

They kept bouncing off of the walls performing the same attacks. Selune was having fun trying out her cool moves, but she knew she had no time for this. She needed to escape and complete the mission. The dragon had enough too and swiped at one of the Selunes. He swung his claw at the left Selune, but once he made contact she shattered into tiny pieces. His eyes widened at the shattered mare.

“What is this?!”

“That is my project mode!” Selune proclaimed. “And this, is me escaping!”

She shot a magical beam at the dragon’s face which in turn launched Selune towards the cave’s entrance. The dragon roared in pain as he received yet another blow to the face. Selune landed right over the fire and ran towards the exit. She ran right out and was engulfed in the sunlight once more.

“Yes!” she cheered as she could feel Celestia’s warm sun.

She was soon stopped when a large stalagmite landed right in front of her. She swerved around to see the angry dragon run out of his cave and towards Selune.

“Oh, C’mon!” she yelled and prepared herself.

“You’re not going anywhere!” The dragon inhaled to release one last and large fiery attack.

Selune’s horn started to glow as she prepared her next move. However, before the dragon could exhale with fire, he was shot back. An unknown force came out of nowhere, struck the dragon in the chest, and sent him flying on his back. The dragon landed on the ground and grabbed his injured chest. Selune didn’t understand this. Something landed right in front of her. Selune was surprised to see Terra Lionmane land right in front of her.

The dragon sat up and snarled angrily at his attacker. Terra wasn’t going to take any of that. He slammed his front hooves into the earth, which shot up a huge boulder from the ground. The dragon stopped growling and stared at the boulder the earth pony just constructed.

“Go back to sleep!” Terra ordered.

He spun around and gave the boulder a hard buck. The boulder was sent flying towards the dragon. It slammed right into the dragon’s gut which sent it back to the dark cave from where it came from. A loud crash was heard from the inside. Terra soon lowered his guard once he knew the fight was over. He turn around and faced Selune.

“I had him,” she smiled.

“Sure you did,” he replied. He then wrapped his hooves around her. “But I’m glad I found you.”

“Aw, you don’t have to get all sappy for me,” she teased but then returned the gesture.

Terra soon broke up the hug and smiled at his partner and friend.

“C’mon, we have a mission to complete.”

Selune nodded and started to follow Terra through the forest again. Rainbow saw the whole thing and smiled. She was glad to see that this fight wasn’t as brutal but was just as awesome.

“So cool! Those two are going places,” she said and soon flew off.

Meanwhile, Shira came to a stop once she knew there was no danger. She was running in place as she waited for her partner to catch up. He was out of breath, again, and looked about ready to give up.

“Can we take a break?” he begged. “Please. I could feel my lungs about to dry up.”

Shira didn’t know how to feel about this. She really wanted to complete this mission, and get to the castle to gain extra points. But she felt like Tacitus was holding her back. Shira liked Tacitus, he seemed like a good friend and shares her level of awkwardness, not to mention he does have a good sense of style. But she could tell this was not the best for mission for him. He looked so scrawny and out of shape, he didn’t look like he could defend himself. Shira was confused.

What do I do? Should I just leave him behind? She mentally punched herself in the face. Don’t say that! It’s part of the mission to arrive at the finish line WITH your partner. Plus, he’s my friend. I can’t leave my friends behind. Right? Then again, I did only meet him yesterday. There’s still a lot I don’t know about him, as well as the other guards. What should I do? I need to finish this mission!

“Shira?”

“Huh?” she gasped.

“You’ve been standing there for five minutes starring at the ground. You Ok?” he asked.

“Hm, I should be the one asking you that,” she chuckled. “But yeah, I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.”

“Can we rest for a little bit?” he asked.

“I guess. But after its back on the trail. We can’t afford to waste any time.”

“Why? I mean, as long as we arrive as a team we’ll still get ten points.”

“Were you not listening?” she exclaimed. This made Tacitus jump a little.

“Huh?”

“Rainbow Dash said that whoever makes it to the castle first gets double points! You can’t pass something like that up, especially on the first mission!” she pointed out.

“I don’t know Shira. I’ve heard Rainbow Dash is best known for her ‘practical jokes’ and pranks. She could’ve just been messing with us,” Tacitus theorized.

“What? No way!” She didn’t want to believe it. It’s not like there was any evidence to back it up. “Think about it. She’s one of elements of harmony and co-rulers of Twilight’s kingdom. Why would she lie to her recruits on the first mission? That just doesn’t add up.”

“I’m just saying. Out of all of the elements, she’s the second most immature. Next to Pinkie anyway.”

“Yeah, that’s true.” Shira didn’t want to believe it. Was Rainbow just screwing with them? Did she really lie about the extra points on their first day? That’s just a jerk move right there.

“But still. Being an element is a professional job.”

“I wouldn’t say it’s a job, more like her destiny or something. After all, she was chosen to represent loyalty. At least, from what I heard from the stories,” he mentioned.

Loyalty, huh?

“I still think we should-“

Growl!

They both paused at the noise, unable to move or to react in time. But Tacitus knew something like this would happen again, so he knew what to say.

“Not again,” he groaned.

Only this time, something DID pop out of those bushes. A large, ferocious manticore jumped out of the bushes and attacked the two ponies. They both jumped back in time and witnessed the monsters loud and scary roar. Loud enough to leave an echo in the forest. Tacitus was scared stiff, he couldn’t move a muscle.

“What do we do now?!”

“Don’t worry. I came prepared,” proclaimed Shira.

She levitated her metal guitar case off her back and took out her guitar. Now both case and guitar was floating in mid-air. Tacitus didn’t know what this meant but allowed Shira to do her thing.

The young mare concentrated for a long time and kept her eyes on the beast. She then used her magic to slam both her case and guitar together. There was a bright flash that engulfed the ponies and manticore. Once the light died down, Tacitus rubbed his eyes and waited for them to readjust. When he opened them, his jaw dropped. Shira was lifting something with her magic. It wasn’t the guitar and it wasn’t the metal case. Instead it was something completely different. There, pointed at the manticore, was a giant sword.

“Whoa,” said Tacitus.

He had hardly seen anything like it, and it had a freaky design. It was the same size as her normal guitar, but the arm was replaced by a long handle and the head where the guitar part would be was replaced by a giant blade. It was like a huge blade with a really long handle. It looked similar to her guitar but it was now turned into a weapon.

“Time to see what this thing can really do,” spoke Shira confidently.

Author's Note

Hope this chapter wasn't too rushed for you, and I hope you enjoyed reading it. More to come real soon. Let me know what you think, thanks.