What to do with that colt:Chapter 1
It was a normal day for Gleaming Shield. She was on her patrol in Canterlot and nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. The citizens mostly ignored her, thinking her nothing more than just a guard, giving no consideration to the thought that she might actually have a life outside of the guard. She didn’t really see anything wrong with that though, the snobbish upper class ponies of Canterlot were mostly peaceful, they would occasionally insult a tourist but other than that, they tended to stay away from anything that would require menial labor
Yes today was a normal day for Gleaming Shield, that is to say it was a boring day. Since Canterlot was the capital of Equestria it naturally attracted all the high class ponies none of them really committed any crimes.
Gleaming Shield wished more than ever that the Princess would assign a regiment to Ponyville, for a small town just below Mount Canter, the small settlement saw a lot of action, and even if it meant more paperwork, Gleaming Shield wouldn’t mind so much if it meant she’d be actually doing something productive.
“Just once I wish we had some drunken brawls, or a runaway fugitive,” Gleaming mumbled to herself. So bored of her mundane patrols was Gleaming Shield, that she would even chase a-
“Thief!” A Pony shouted as he rushed out of his shop after a young colt who bolted acrossed the street.
“Yes, finally,” She whispered to herself before giving chase. She didn’t care if it was a colt she was chasing, it beat just walking around.
Galloping across the street to follow the young colt, Gleaming Shield saw the tip of his mane, a deep purple with bits of light blue, as he ran under the legs of ponies with great skill. Putting on a burst of speed that would make the most seasoned earth pony guards stop with impressed looks, Gleaming made a path through a crowd as she shouted.
“Royal Guard business, everypony move!” She shouted getting the attention of the crowd who moved as fast as possible.
The colt continued to run though having heard Gleaming Shield’s shout, her turned his head. His eyes widened in terror at the sight of her before he tried to run faster. It was for nought though as his small legs could only take him so far. Gleaming Shield caught up with the colt in a matter of seconds, before she used her magic to cast a freeze spell on the colt before lifting him to eye level.
“Alright you little troublemaker.” Gleaming said as she inspected the young colt. “I caught you red hoofed,”
Gleaming Shield took this time to inspect the colt, She’d need to remember everything about him right now, before she started to fill out paperwork. As her eyes roamed over the colt small details worked their way into her head. He was a unicorn, the horn on his head a clear indication, though it looked slightly longer and sharper than a normal foals, in where her horn came to a rounded point, his was just that, a sharp point capable of drawing blood with the slightest prick.
His mane and tail were two toned but in an odd way. Near the base of his skull and flank the hair was blue but as it traveled further out it changed to a midnight purple. Gleaming Shield suspected it might have been dyed that way. The colt didn’t have a cutiemark yet, his greyish blue coat remained bare on his flank, though his body was covered in a thick layer of grime and filth that suggested that he had been out in the back alleys of Canterlot.
Sticking halfway out of his mouth was an unfinished donut, the chocolate glaze still covering his face and leaving him a mess. The last thing Gleaming Shield noted about him was his eyes. They were the deepest shade of blue she had seen. His pupils reminded her of a dragon's eyes.
Shaking her head Gleaming Shield headed back to the store that the colt had stolen from. The sign on top read “Donut Joe’s” and was accompanied by a large donut with pink glaze and sprinkles. Walking inside he was greeted by the sight of a large earth pony stallion, with a tan coat and a brown mane. He wore an apron with a name take which read “Donut Joe”. His cutie mark was obviously a donut, which closely resembled the one on the sign just outside.
Gleaming Shield was surprised to see him, it wasn’t everyday that you spotted anypony other than a unicorn who lived in Canterlot. The snobbish populace tended to drive away the other tribes, and the cost to open, let alone support, an establishment ensured that only the riches of ponies could afford to live in Canterlot.
Joe spotted Gleaming Shield the moment she walked into his shop and upon setting his sights on the colt he gave a sigh of relief. “Oh good you caught him,”
“Do you want to press charges?” Gleaming asked as she sat the colt down, before undoing her freezing spell.
Joe shook his head. “No, I want his parents to know that I catch him in my shop again, I’ll charge him,” he said getting a nod out of Gleaming Shield. “Got it colt? You’re banned from my shop,” The colt only nodded, the donut he had stolen mysteriously having disappeared. “Good,”
“Do you know where the colt lives or who he is?” Gleaming asked Joe. The stallion only shook his head. “Where are your parents?” She asked the colt, who was preoccupied trying to lick the glaze off of his face. Gleaming turned to Joe, who gave a shrug in return. “What is your name?”
The colt remained silent, unwilling to speak to Gleaming. She began to get frustrated though she didn’t show it and instead tried again. “If you don’t tell me what I want to know, I’ll have to put you in the dungeons, until we find your parents,” She lied, hoping to scare the colt. She smiled inwardly when she saw him look her way.
“You’re lying,” he whispered surprising both Gleaming Shield and Joe. “You don’t throw ponies in the dungeons for not talking,” he stated.
Gleaming couldn’t help but smirk a bit, the colt was smart. “You’ve got me there, but that doesn’t stop me from taking you to my commanding officer, so tell me where to find your parents and they can deal with you,”
The colt looked down and refused to speak as a look crossed his face. Gleaming thought she might have crossed a line, and the thought that his parents were abusive crossed her mind. It would certainly explain why he was filthy, and stealing food. Maybe he was a runaway, and had been living on the streets for the past couple of days, whatever the case was Gleaming was sure she had stumbled upon something more than just petty thievery.
With nothing else to go on, and the colt’s refusal to speak, Gleaming had no other choice. The colt was made to walk in front of her as she led him down the streets towards the castle, the thought that he might try and slip away were she not looking crossed her mind. Getting to the castle took only a matter of minutes.
Leading the colt inside, it didn’t take long until Gleaming found herself in front of the Captain's office. Gleaming Shield knocked twice before a voice called her inside. Opening the door, she lead the colt inside and directed him to a chair and told him to sit, which he promptly ignored.
“Corporal Gleaming Shield sir,” She said as she saluted Captain Shining Armor, who was busy looking over several reports.
“At ease Corporal,” he replied. Looking up from his papers he spotted the colt who stood by and gave Gleaming Shield a questioning stare. “Corporal, what’s with the colt?”
“I caught him stealing sir,” She explained which caused Shining Armor to lift a brown.
“And you brought him here because…?”
“The owner didn’t want to press charges, but the colt refuses to tell me his name or where he lives,” Shining Armor sighed before he stood up and inspected the colt.
“Why were you stealing kid?” he asked, his voice stern but not mean.
“...I was hungry,” he replied in a hushed whisper, which got Shining Armor to nod.
“I bet you’re still hungry right?” he pressed getting a nod from the colt. “ Corporal,” he said turning to address Gleaming Shield. “Head to the kitchens and get him some sandwiches please,” Gleaming Shield nodded before turning to leave.
Shining Armor waited for a moment before he fixed his gaze on the colt again. “What’s your name?” he asked his tone softening, and his posture relaxing.
“My names Shade,” he whispered hesitantly. Shining nodded a smile working its way on his face.
“Well Shade, my name’s Shining Armor,” he replied extending his hoof towards Shade, who hesitantly did the same before they bumped hooves. “So why is a Saberhorn colt stealing food in the middle of the day?” Shining Armor asked no hint of malice or disapproval in his voice.
“You know what I am?” Shade asked, his eyes going wide as the unicorn in front of him nodded.
“The Lunar guard is comprised of mostly night ponies, and I have to work with them from time to time. Just because your a foal, doesn’t mean I don’t recognize a saberhorn when I see one.” He explained before he noticed the colt was squinting. Using his horn, Shining Armor drew the currants over the window behind him, blocking out a substantial amount of light. “So why were you out during the day time? I know you’ve got a headache from the sun.”
“I already told you I was hungry,” Shade repeated getting Shining Armor to frown a bit.
“Why were you hungry, you’re parents not feed you?” he asked.
Shade began to avoid Shining Armor's eyes, and started to fuss with his mane. A look of sorrow crossed his face and Shining Armor couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty.
“...I don’t have parents anymore,” he whispered.
A look of understanding crossed Shining Armor’s face as he leaned back. Guilt crossed his face as the unicorn tried to think of something to say. Saying sorry didn’t seem to cut it, but he couldn’t think of anything else to say really, after all what did you say to something like that. Thankfully he didn’t have to say anything. There was a knock on the door.
“Enter,” Shining Armor said. A moment later the door opened and Gleaming Shield entered, a small platter stacked high with sandwiches and a glass and pitcher of what appeared to be juice. Getting off the floor, Shining nodded to Gleaming Shield and dismissed her before taking the food and drink. The mare seemed to want to stay but after a moment of hesitation she decided to leave.
“Go ahead and eat, I know you’re starving,” he said as he returned to his desk and retrieved several papers from inside his desk as well an ink well and a quill.
Shade didn’t need telling twice, in a matter of moments his horn was alight with a blue light. The glass and pitcher were lifted as were three sandwiches. The sandwiches were brought closer and eaten quickly, while the pitcher poured the juice in the glass before floating towards him as well as two more sandwiches.
Meanwhile Shining Armor was just finishing up some letters. Sealing the letters his horn lit up and sent the first letter to the Captain of the Lunar guard, while he sent the Second letter to the mistress of a local orphanage. Turning from his work he watched as Shade brought another sandwich to his mouth. He noticed that a substantial dent had been made in the tower that had been sandwiches.
