A Changed Town

Canterlot. An amazing representation of the best architecture and engineering Equestria has to offer. The capital city seemingly etched into the side of a mountain. Not only that, but the class, sophistication and not to mention the royalty that resides within the cities walls... Or, at least that's how it was seen before the Changelings attacked...

Now, streets amidst the city lay almost empty for the most part of the day, ponies too paranoid to go about their usual business... Some ponies left altogether, afraid that the city would be attacked again... Now, that wasn't to say that nopony roamed the streets at all, some of the more optimistic occupants of the capital still carried on with their daily routine.

One thing was for sure. The city wouldn't be the same for a long, long time.

Occasionally along the streets, patrols of Canterlot's esteemed Royal Guard would be seen, observing their surroundings for anything that could be considered suspisious or threatening to the citizens of the once vibrant, busy city.

Moonlight Shadow, a general of Celestia's royal guard swept over the city, keeping an eye on the streets... He was technically off duty, but it never hurts to be vigilant, nopony saw the Changelings coming until it was too late... It could have been avoided, but nopony was really to blame... After all, with everypony caught up in the festivities of the royal wedding, who could have seen the attack coming?

The General's coat was a dark gray, his black mane flowing with the wind as he soared over the barren streets, on his way to Canterlot Castle's Barracks, so he could begin his patrol for the day.

A cloud came into view, sitting just over the training grounds within Canterlot Castle, this was usually where new recruits would be taken for their initiation and training drills. The General slowed and descended onto the cloud, his mane falling into its usual frazzled, unkempt place. Gazing down into the grounds, another pegasus could be seen, pacing and speaking to a group of new recruits.

"That's why we're here, to make sure that any, and every member of the royal family comes to no harm! To make sure that in the worst case scenario, Canterlot still stands! To make sure that everypony in Equestria can feel safe at night!" The pegasus said, pride and determination clear in his voice.

"Heh, as usual... Crimson never misses a beat." Moonlight mumbled to nopony in particular.

Crimson Shield was one of Moonlight's best and only friends, they had met in Cloudsdale in their foalhood, stickng together all throughout flight school and onward. They were both keen on the idea of joining up with the Royal Guard when they moved to Canterlot after finishing their last summester of schooling... And today, they both held the rank of General, still vying to prove to one another who is the best.

A round of cheering and yelling broke Moonlight's trail of thought. Crimson had just finished his speech, and boy, were the recruits excited.

Moonlight yawned. Sure, Crimson was good, but he could do much better.

Moonlight chuckled at his own sarcastic thoughts, so what if Crimson was better at the awe-inspiring speeches. Out of the two, he considered himself to be the best when it came down to their actual job. Although the guard didn't handle as many military-typed operations that it used to, back in their younger days, the two had done some crazy things in the guard. During the time when relations between Equestrians and the Griffons were falling apart.

The two Generals were almost opposites when it came to their fields of expertise. Moonlight prefering a concealed, stealthy approach to things and Crimson preferring to charge into battle head on. Their cutie marks reflected this, Moonlight's being a dark silhouette of a pony, which almost faded in with his dark coat, and Crimson's being a set of crossed swords, accompanied by a shield behind them.

The recruits had fallen back to silence, Crimson gathering them around for one last rally.

"One last thing, everypony. You need to treat the next few weeks very seriously... Although not many ponies would like to admit it, we may be on the verge of a war. All of you saw what happened to Canterlot when the Changelings took us by suprise last time. You need to remain vigilant both on and off duty. Because last time has to be exactly that, the last time." Another round of cheers and enthusiastic yells came from the group. "Now you all have the information about your postings for the day, and you all know who is meant to be supervising you. Dismissed!"

Slowly, Crimson's group disbanded, heading off to their daily patrols. Crimson smiled proudly, content with his work on the speech. Although the royal guard wasn't much of a military branch, Crimson always liked to think of it as if it were.

Crimson's attention was caught by an over-exaggerated yawn coming from above him. Craning his neck upwards he found the source. Moonlight Shadow.

"You don't like to mix things up at all do you?" Moonlight asked, "I mean, I've heard you give that exact same speech four or five times this week! I get it, it's gotta be- no, it will be the last time."

Crimson smiled, "It's better than whatever you'd come up with and you know it." He laughed.

"Ha!" Moonlight retorted, "Are you kidding me?! I could beat that in my sleep!"

"Well, go on then." Crimson challenged, smiling while Moonlight stood in thought, trying to come up with something that was even half-decent.

Moonlight suddenly stood upright, puffing out his chest and putting on his best impression of Crimson's voice. "Now listen up, rookies! You need to be serious for the next few weeks! That means no joking around! Nopony wants to say it, but we are almost, on the verge, of war-" Crimson glanced away, planting his face in his hoof. "How am I doing?" Moonlight asked sarcastically.

"Is that what you think that I sound like?" Crimson asked, no longer bothering to keep his laughter at bay. "That was awful."

"Really? Because that's almost the exact same speech you just gave." Moonlight added, laughing along with his friend.

"Keep believing that, buddy."

Laughing the remainder of the morning away, Moonlight left to prepare for his patrols while Crimson got ready for the next group of recruits to rally.