On My Honor

Twilight had just finished tacking up the posters. They read:

GUARDS NEEDED

CONTACT PRINCESS TWILIGHT OR SHINING ARMOR FOR DETAILS

MUST BE STRONG, DEDICATED, AND BRAVE

Rainbow Dash flew over. "Okay, egghead, whatcha up to now, huh?"

She rolled her eyes. "I'm pretty sure you can read, Rainbow Dash. Since I'm a new princess, I need royal guards."

"Oh, cool! Are they gonna be like your elite hit squad or something?" The Pegasus looked genuinely excited at the idea of a princess running a hit squad.

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "You know, hit squads are banned in Canterlot..."

"Of course I know that, Twi. I know, like, everything there is to know about awesomeness. Well, see ya later!" Then she sped off.

The next morning, applicants were already filing in. All of them were buff, tall stallions who probably could've taken down a timberwolf with one hoof. Most of them were Pegasi and Unicorns, with a few Earth ponies here and there. Of course, with Twilight being the princess, she had to review every single one of them.

The first one was a Unicorn a white coat, sky-blue eyes, and his mane was golden and buzz-cut. "The name's Noble Act, ma'am. I was raised in Fillydelphia and I wish to join your royal guard."

Without looking up from the applicant's resume, Twilight waved towards a security guard. "Do a background check."

And so it continued, with many other similar ponies. "I am Steel Heart, from Cloudsdale!" "Your majesty, my name is Clear Thought, hailing from near Horseshoe Bay!" "Pleasure to meet you, your highness. They call me Silver Crest." This went on through the day.

There was only one more to review, and Princess Twilight was bordering on sleep. If this was another Noble Act re-color, she would fall off her throne. Bracing for boredom, she prepared for another stallion with the same looks to introduce himself when she heard, "Howdy, Twi. I do think ya know me, but I'm Applejack."

She almost face-planted on the royal Canterlot floor. "Applejack?"

The orange apple-bucker was grinning. "Took you long enough."

Unfortunately, the security guard had noticed too. "Whoa, there! This is supposed to be a tryout for royal guards, miss!"

Applejack looked slightly annoyed. "I know that. I'm here to apply."

He repeated himself. "This is for future royal guards! No mares allowed!"

Now she looked furious. "That's gender bias! I'm gonna apply and nopony's gonna stop me!"

They had a silent staredown before Twilight interrupted. "Okay, okay. Let's calm down here. She can apply, I'll make sure of that."

The guard was about ready to explode. "She's a mare!"

Both Twilight and Applejack glared at him and said, "What's wrong with that?"

All of a sudden, he shrank back. "Because, uh, because mares are supposed to be princesses and stuff?"

Long story short, Twilight fired him. As for Applejack, she became a royal guard in no time, passing the boot camp, history tests, and weapon training with flying colors. Nopony could be more determined than that. A lot of credit could also go to her friends, who supported her all the way through. Fluttershy brought entire herds of woodland creatures to cheer Applejack on, Pinkie Pie baked all sorts of tasty energy bars, Twilight helped her study, Rainbow Dash provided extra training exercises, and Rarity ,of course, flirted with the other guards-in-training.

One day, the others decided to visit Applejack and Twilight in Canterlot. They hopped aboard the Friendship Express and arrived just before lunchtime. At the mess hall where the royal guards ate, they found Applejack eating in a small, dark corner.

Pinkie Pie immediately bounced over. "What's up, ol'-buddy-of-mine?"

She looked incredibly dejected. "Nothing."

Rarity immediately caught on... Sort of. "Oh, darling, it must be the armor. Don't you see how terribly heavy it is? Oh dear, let me help, I can design a custom one for you! After all, these are supposed to be stallion's clothes..."

"No thanks, Rare, but I appreciate it." Then Applejack turned her back to them.

Rainbow Dash was getting frustrated. "AJ, if you don't want to talk to us, then fine! If you do, cough it up!"

She sighed. "I guess I shoulda expected it, but every single day I'm shoved, teased, or thrown off of a balance beam. All the stallions say I'm a buckin' country mare who doesn't deserve to be a guard. Maybe they're right. I don't belong here."

"Don't worry, Applejack," said Fluttershy. "You can show them just how good you are. I know it."

"Yeah! I'll bet that you can take 'em all down without any trouble!" added Rainbow Dash.

A loud trumpet fanfare echoed through the noisy lunch hall. Twilight was hovering in the center of the room, spotlighted by a ray of sun. "Excuse me, everypony, but I have an announcement to make! Shining Armor is looking for apprentices, and wishes to nominate one of you as  Secondary Captain of the Royal Guard! This way, if he is ever unable to fulfill his duty, he will have a replacement. Also, the Secondary Captain will be the leader of my elite protection force. Tryouts are in the weapons training hall tomorrow at six o'clock, sharp!" Then she flew out of the hall and lunch continued.

Rainbow was beside herself. "So she does have a hit squad."

Abruptly, Pinkie Pie squealed. "Hey, Applejack, you should try out! You can be the Secondary Captain!"

Rarity nodded. "Yes, that's a fine idea. The Secondary Captain gets custom armor, you know."

"We're all going to be rooting for you," whispered Fluttershy.

Applejack straightened up and looked at her friends. "All right. I'll do it."