Prologue: Searching for a New Member of the Royal Guard
Two social statuses, both alike in pride.
In fair Canterlot, tells the tale from high and mighty, to humble and reticent.
Where its royalty make their citizens unkind.
Due to one being a Royal and another being, no more than, a peasant…
These two of social status are no more
The streets of Canterlot were crowded due to an event that was, now, awry. The citizens of the kingdom watched as one of their own, Big MacIntosh, was jousting against, Prince Shining Armor.
King Sombra, the prince’s father, was sitting in the Royal Box. He watched intently as his heir battled the young stallion. His wife, Queen Celestia, sat beside him. His hoof laid upon hers, however, not taking his eyes off of the tournament.
The crowd could be heard from all around. Voices from all angles, encouraging for the big, red earth pony to beat the young unicorn prince. Two voices, in particular, had been shouting for him to win, from afar.
“Come on, Big Mac,” shouted a little red-headed filly.
“You can do it,” shouted a young, orange mare with a country accent.
The stallion looked over to see his two younger sisters, smiling and waving at him. He smiled in return, only to be met with them gesturing to turn back around. His eyebrow had risen, wondering what they were trying to tell him. As he turned around, his eyes widened once he realized that the prince was charging after him with his jousting sword.
Big MacIntosh fell to the ground, letting out a big, deep grunt. The crowd gasped, watching him as he held onto his chest in pain.
Prince Shining Armor took off his helmet and walked over to the collapsed stallion. He extended his hoof, waiting for him to grab it.
The earth pony’s looked up. Shaking his head to the side, his orange mane moving out of his eyes. His eyes laid on the royals’ hoof for a few moments, realizing that he was offering to help him up. Finally, after what had seemed to feel like hours and hours Big MacIntosh had took the prince's hoof, helping him get off the ground.
He bowed his head in gratitude, Shining Armor giving him a small nod in return. The humble earth pony stallion gave him a sly smile before walking over to his two sisters.
The crowd cheered once again.
On the other side of Canterlot, a young, pegasus stallion, by the name of Flash Sentry, was flying through the evening sky. His little brother, First Base, was on his back, touching the clouds with his hoof.
Flash's wings flapped through the air as he look down at the ground below. The pegasus was taking himself and his little sibling to the market, when he took notice of a large crowd in the streets of Canterlot.
"What's going on down there, Flash?"
"I'm not sure, little brother," he replied.
Flash looked down at the crowd below them. He raised an eyebrow, curiosity getting the better of him.
"Hold on tight to me, First," he warned him.
The little earth pony nodded, wrapping his hooves around the front of his brother's neck.
The eldest then took a nosedive towards the crowd at high-speed. Flash flew so fast, that the intensity of the wind had almost caused his little brother's entire face to come off of its skeleton.
He began to slow down once he was getting closer toward the impending crowd. His eyes scanned the area until he found a nice little spot next to his good friend, Pinkie Pie, one of the local bakers in the kingdom.
The stallion landed right next to the pink mare, giving her a soft smile. He turned his head behind him to see First Base looking completely disoriented. His dark blue hair was pushed back as if some sort of twister had just passed by the kingdom streets, and his pupils had dilated in shock.
The colt shook his head frantically, his mane returning to its original state. He then glared at Flash. Flash gave him a sheepish smile.
“Hello, Pinkie Pie,” he greeted her.
“Hi, Flashie!”
The pegasus chuckled. “What’s going on here?”
“Oh, well, the king and queen are holding a jousting tournament for any stallion who would like to become a new member of the castle guard,” she explained.
The two brothers tilted their heads. “Really?”
“Mhmm,” the earth pony responded. “Whoever beats the king and queen’s son, gets to become a member of guard.”
“Has anypony succeeded,” First Base asked.
“Nope. Nopony yet.”
Suddenly, the streets of Canterlot went silent, King Sombra stood up from his seat, and began speaking. “Are there any other stallions who would like to compete against my son,” he paused before continuing, “for a chance to become a member of the Royal Guard?”
No pony stepped forward. It was then that the queen stood up from her seat as well.
“Come now, fillies and gentlecolts,” Queen Celestia spoke. “There is no need to be shy. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
Flash felt a little tug on his hoof. He turned around, realizing that First Base was the one doing so. He kneeled down to his level.
“Yes, what is it, little brother?”
“You should go out there and challenge the prince,” First Base told him.
Flash’s eyes widened. Me? Go against the prince of Canterlot? he thought.
“What makes you think I’m capable enough to beat Prince Shining Armor?”
“Didn’t you used to tell me that you were the best jousters in school,” he asked him.
“Well, yes,” he admitted. “But that was years ago, First. I’m not even sure I even remember.”
“Come on, big brother! I know you can do it!”
“Yeah, Flash! Go out there and show them” Pinkie Pie said, randomly coming in between them.
The two brothers looked at the pony in between the two of them, confused and curious. First Base just shook his head, forgetting about Pinkie Pie.
“Please, Flash,” he begged. “I think it would be awesome to tell my friends that my big brother was now in the Royal Guard. Heck, might even marry a princess.”
Flash and Pinkie gasped, covering the little colt’s mouth. He stared at them, wide-eyed. What did I say? he asked himself.
“You can’t say that, First,” the stallion warned him.
“You can never ever say that,” Pinkie added.
The two of them removed their hooves from his mouth. He spit his tongue out.
“Why not?”
“It is forbidden for a peasant to marry a royal. Not even a Royal Guard is allowed to marry a member of the Royal Family,” Flash explained.
“And if they do,” the little colt asked, curiously.
Pinkie and Flash looked at each other for a few moments before looking toward him.
“...Banishment,” they both said in unison.
First Base’s eyes widened, not realizing that that would be the consequence. He didn’t like the thought of his big brother being banished. He was the only family he had left.
“Oh, well, I wouldn’t want for you to be banished somewhere far away,” he told him, hugging his leg.
The blue haired pegasus chuckled. “Don’t worry, kid. That won’t happen,” he reassured him, petting his hair. The young colt smiled. “Come on, let’s go off to the market.”
First Base nodded, hopping onto his sibling’s back. He turned his head towards the pink mare. “Bye, Pinkie Pie.”
Pinkie Pie waved goodbye as Flash and his brother took to the air.
King Sombra and Queen Celestia waited for a response from the crowd. After about five minutes the queen took the king over to her side for a brief discussion.
“Sombra, dear,” she began, “perhaps we should wait another week or so. It looks as if the rest of the citizens are intimidated by our song’s skills.”
The king looked around, noticing about seventy-five percent of the stallions seemed to be frightened of the prince, and the other fifteen percent in awe. To his wife’s thinking, he agreed. He turned to face their local citizens.
“We would like to thank all of whom participated in the tournament,” the king said. “However, it seems that we have not found our new member of the Royal Guard. We will return in seven days time to resume our search,” he explained. “Come along, son. We must return to the castle.”
Prince Shining Armor nodded his head. “Yes, father,” he responded, using his magic to levitate his jousting sword and helmet into the carriage.
Just a few yards away from the Royal Family, a grey stallion with a baby-blue horn appeared. The stallion hid himself behind a tree so he wouldn’t be seen by any other pony.
He watched from afar as the queen was just about to seat herself into the carriage. The corners of his mouth turn lifted from ear to ear, smiling a wickedly devious, yet goofy, smile.
Wait for it… he thought to himself. Wait for it…
Just as the alicorn seated herself down in the carriage, the unicorn’s horn began to harness, an almost clear, magic. He squinted his eyes, and his eyebrows furrowed in concentration.
The king and queen’s conveyance began to slowly move forward. None of ponies seemed to take notice at first until, out of the nowhere, the boxcar went high-speed, taking the queen with it.
Queen Celestia screamed in fright and panic as she began racing down the streets of Canterlot.
“My queen,” King Sombra shouted, before running after her. Shining Armor followed suit.
The grey unicorn still stood behind the tree, getting a laugh out of the situation that he had made happen.
“Hahaha,” he laughed. “Wait, until my dear Fluttershy hears about this.”
He then teleported out from behind the tree, returning to the castle.
“That’ll be five bits,” said the salespony.
Flash Sentry and First Base were at the local market, buying some apples from their good friend Flim. The pegasus’s little brother reached into his little pocket pouch and took out five little coins. After counting them, he handed them over to the pale unicorn.
“There you go, Flim,” the little earth pony said.
“Why, thank you, little fella,” he responded. First Base smiled. “How’s the job going at the school, Flash?”
The pegasus hesitated. “Ehh… not very well. Not enough money to help support my little brother and I,” he explained.
The unicorn gave him a look of pity. “Well, why don’t you just find another job? Why not take up that guard opening that the castle,” he asked him.
The young stallion did nothing but chuckle. “Why does everypony think I’m worthy enough to become a member of the Royal Guard,” he asked. His arm nudged his little brother before looking down at him. “You say it, then Pinkie, and now you?”
“You were one of the best jousters in the whole class, and one of the fastest flyers I’ve ever seen,” Flim mentioned.
“Yes, but that doesn-” he cut off once he started to hear the sound of a carriage quickly rolling down the street.
The pegasus turned around, walking towards the edge of the street. Some of the other ponies walked over to the edge of the street as well, curious to what was going on.
Everypony's eyes grew wide in horror, as they witnessed their queen screaming in panic whilst inside the runaway carriage. The king and prince of Canterlot were soon seen galloping down the same road, going after it.
"Somepony, stop that carriage," Prince Shining Armor shouted.
Without thinking, Flash took to the air, flying as fast as he could.
Queen Celestia was, for the first time in years, a damsel in distress. She was in a runaway carriage too frightened to concentrate or even think. She was going at, what seemed like to her, faster than the speed of light.
She gasped when she saw a cliff at the end of where she was headed. She shut her eyes tight, waiting for impact. When nothing happened, she slowly opened one eyelid to see what had happened.
"Huh," she wondered. How in the world...? She then noticed a shadow at the rear of the cart.
A male pegasus was behind the cart, holding onto it with his bare hooves, giving all of his strength so she wouldn't go over the cliff. She noticed that he was starting to sweat, for it seemed as though that he could give out at any moment.
That didn't happen, however, for her beloved king and son had come racing toward her. Some of their dear citizens of coming alongside them as well.
The king and prince used their magic together to help the stallion lift the carriage from tumbling over, what could've been, a major catastrophe.
As soon as the carriage and the queen was put safely on the ground, the stallion took a step back, catching his breath.
"Mother," the prince began, " are you alright?"
Queen Celestia gave him a comforting smile. "Yes, I'm fine," she responded. The queen then glanced over to the pegasus, smiling in gratitude.
"You," the king said. "You saved my wife's life."
He chuckled. "Oh, it was nothing," the stallion blushed.
"What is your name," the king asked him.
"Flash Sentry, your majesty," he answered.
King Sombra gave him a warm smile. "Flash, how would you like to become our new member of the Royal Guard," he asked.
Flash's eyes widened, completely speechless. A Royal guard? "Pardon me, your majesty?"
"Well, you've just saved my queen's life, for one thing," he began, "I think the last time I've seen a pegasus, such as yourself, fly that fast was when I first met my Captain, Rainbow Dash."
The blue haired pony thought for a moment, then asked, "If I become a member of the Royal Guard...," he trailed off before continuing," will my little brother, First Base, be able to come along as well?"
"Of course," the queen reassured him.
He thought about it a little more, unsure. His eyes scanned the, now watching, crowd where he spotted his little brother.
First Base looked him in the eye, giving him a sly smile. There was a hint of hope in his eyes that Flash saw in them. He returned a smile to his brother.
The stallion then stuck it his hoof. "I accept."
King Sombra smiled, taking Flash's hoof, shaking it proudly. "Very well."
Queen Celestia then turned to the crowd, and announced, "We have found our new guard!"
Everypony in Canterlot stomped their hooves together and cheered for new member of the Royal Guard.
