I. The news of the disappearence.
The captain of the royal pegasi guard was standing on the northern wall of Canterlot, admiring the beauty of this marvelous city. It was a sight for sore eyes, and the captain could never get tired from this sight. The buildings looked gorgeous under the sunlight, showing off their complex design. All of them were beautiful, though there were some buildings, which our guard admired the most. Those were the houses, owned by the wealthiest ponies in all of Equestria, not to mention Canterlot. Of course, they could not compare to the royal palace, but most newcomers gazed at the structures in awe. Our captain had been examining the city view for quite some while and would've spent hours more, if not for one of his best subordinates, SunShield.
"Captain NobleSpear!" the soldier said, breathing heavily.
"Yes? What is it?" the captain replied in a lazy manner.
"The princess requires your immidiate presence in the throne room," said Sunshield hastily, so it was hard to understand his speech.
"Has she stated the reason of this call?" the captain asked still without any interst.
"I believe not, sir," the guard hesitated for a moment, " but she said, it was of outmost importance."
The captain put his helmet on, hiding his mane, and started making his way to the throne room as he suddenly turned.
"And where is your duty today, Sunshield?" he asked with a grin
"The Northern wall. Right here, actually," the young guard answered after a small pause.
"If that's so, then you are late," said the the captain, coming toward his subject.
"I... I was delayed by the princess, sir," he tried to explain.
"Oh, yes, of course, then I'll discuss your punishment with her" NobleSpear said, smiling, as his subordinate got more and more nervous.
Of course, this was only a jest, our captain would never punish his troops for such minor misdemeanors. Though he liked to test their nerves. At first the guards had been frightend, but afterwards they got used to it, started to respect their captain, because he was more, than a commander to them, he was a friend. During his way, NobleSpear noticed, that some of his troops were being visited by their loved ones. Seeing this always made our hero curious, how could most of the guards have a special somepony, while he, a captain, had none. Becalming himself with the thought, that he hasn't enough time to love somepony, NobleSpear decided to go on, hoping, that there would be nothing else to stray him from his way.
Unfortunately, things didn't go his way. Just outside the throne room, he saw two guards, fallen asleep during their duty. NobleSpear had always been calm and understanding, but at the sight of this he burst into anger, starting to yell at the two poor earth ponies.
"What are you doing, Discord damn you! How dare you fall asleep, while guarding Her Majesty?" Noblespear shouted, his voice getting louder with every letter he pronounced, "In any moment a guard should be ready to protect the Princess! Can you say this about yourselves right now?" the captain exclaimed furiously.
One of the earth ponies took a quick look at the captain and lazily asked, "And who are you to yell at us, the royal guards?"
"Are you blind or generally stupid? You are facing the captain of the royal guard!" said Noblespear, trying to contain himself.
"Captain of the pegasi royal guard. We take orders only from our commander or the Princess herself," replied the earth pony impertinently.
"You have no subordination at all. Can't you understand, you are talking to your superior?" The highly annoyed captain raised his voice again.
The young guard continued irritating the pegasus. "Never thought, someone like you could've become my superior anyway."
"That's it! My patience is over! If you want to show, how tough you are, you'll get that chance at the duel," said the captain, unable to stand this behaviour.
"So you challenge me to a duel? And where is your weapon, captain?" said the bold guard with a smile.
Angrily NobleSpear replied to this question, "None of your business. Just be at the training field first thing tomorrow morning."
Indeed, the spear of our noble guard was missing. It was the first thing, he noticed, when he woke up. It was a great loss, since that weapon was a family relic. The blade was decorated with exquisite golden patterns, the shaft was covered with the finest silks. Some might say. it was not a weapon, but a true work of art. Of course, that was so, but a spear shouldn't just look good, it should be able to cut and withstand enemy attacks. And this weapon managed to do it just perfectly. The blade was so sharp, it could be used to cut metal plates, the staff so durable, it hadn't broken after a thousand battles. And this morning it was missing. But the worst was the fact, no one else wanted to search for it. So the captain had to postpone his search, until a better time.
But it wasn't time for sad memories. Now the captain had to calm himself, enter the throne room and try to make a good impression on the Princess. Once he managed to do that, he open the gates and stepped inside. Once again the sight of the large and spacious room thrilled the pegasus. The throne room inspired confidence, that ponies could do anything, while working together. The stained-glass windows refracted the light, which made the room look even more wonderful. In the center there stood a mighty throne, on which the magnificent Princess Celestia was seated. This time, though, she was not alone. Before her there were standing two other captains.
The first one was named HorniGold, a unicorn entrusted with the corresponding section of the royal guard. He was one of the best shots in Equestria. Though he was not the best commander. He was too strict to his subjects. If his troop made a tiny mistake, Hornigold showed him the door out of the castle. If the mistake was bigger, he accused the guard of treason, sending him into the dungeon. This way the discipline in his ranks was perfect, but the guards had no love for him.
The second one was HoofenDuff, commander of the earth ponies. He was a great warrior, never defeated. His sword always struck with surgical precision. Though he was no leader. In other words, he never cared about his troops. They lived a life of their own. In theese conditions, the discipline was terrible, if there even was discipline.Though the guards respected their commander for his "decisions".
NobleSpear bowed before the Princess and walked forth. Now he was standing between the two other captains. Princess Celestia started talking.
"My dearest captains, I am very glad, that all of you could attend. But this is no time to cheer, since Princess Twilight Sparkle is gone missing," The Princess spoke, trying not show, that she is worried, "Thanks to captain NobleSpear's scouts we were able to react almost immediately. We do not know, who is responsible for this, and that is why I called you. I would like to send one of you on an investigation. As you all perfectly understand, this mission is of outmost importance and we need the best pony to complete it. So I asked for Shining Armor to pick one of you. He will be here tomorrow and after his decision is made, he will stay here and watch over the guards, who will be left without their captain. If everything is understood, you can return to your duties.
Our hero knew, that HorniGold cared only for bits and would use this opportunity only to make a fortune. HoofenDuff, in turn, cared little for gold, though he was after fame and glory. Saving a Princess could've made him one of the most known guards in Equestria. That is why NobleSpear never thusted them. He hoped, that Grand Master Shining Armor would choose him, but there was nothing he could do. The only thing left was to wait for the decisiosn.
The same morning in Poniville
Five friends awoke at Twilight Sparkle's castle. This was no natural sleep, but caused by some herbs. All of them had no idea, what had happened. At first they couldn't imagine, that Twilight was gone, but soon they realzied, that it was true. The first one to get an idea was Rarity, suggesting to tell this to the guards immediately. The first guard they saw was a unicorn. The five mares rushed to him, telling what had happened. The guard seemed to have no interest in this and redircted them to some pagasi guards, making the excuse, that he himself was busy with something.
The five friends had nothing else to do, than hurry and find the pegasi. They were in the middle of solving a problem in the town market, but as soon as they heard, that Princess Twilight was missing, they flew to Canterlot and informed Princess Celestia of this. There was nothing left for the worried friends to do, but wait for help.
Author's Note
I hope, you enjoy the first chapter of this story. The second one should follow shortly. If there are some complaints, I'm all ears.
