We had left Prince Blueblood in the room, permitting him time to recuperate and to gather his thoughts. In the state we had left him; exhausted and in a shambles, I had expected him to be useless.

As we return with two guards, the good Prince is exactly where we had left him. To his credits, he had taken the test fairly well; from what we could see as we entered the room.

“I hope you have managed to gather your thoughts and recuperated from your test, Prince Blueblood. I brought a few guards in case you need a shoulder to lean on, on your way out of the room!” I merely explained; for the benefit of the still mute Prince, the first recruit on our list.

He looked up, then nodded at the two guards closest to him. There is still a hint of a haunted look on his eyes as he turned to me, trying his best to look me in the eye.

“I feared, you would break me in two!” he merely told my brother, Shining Armour.

“Let me relieve you of that tube!” I prompted, as I extended my magic and extracted the item from his rear entrance.

“Thank you, Princess Twilight Sparkle!” he expressed, as he felt the rubber tube slide out of him from behind.

“You are quite welcome; but I will need this for the next recruit, later!” I prompted.

“Don’t be silly, Prince Blueblood; but if I had done that, I would have known that you were unfit for the position, as much as I may hate and regret it!” Shining Armour pointed out, in no uncertain terms.
Then he let a chuckle escape his lips.

“Naturally, you can never mention what transpired within that room, and not even to your dearest lover or future foals!” I declared; as nonchalantly as possible, and in a low, hushed voice.

“Future foals? Why, I have no plans for foals now! And certainly not now, after this!” Prince Blueblood thinks, as the chock of the statement hit home.

I closed the door behind us, as Shining Armour had entered the room on the rear, with Prince Blueblood supported by one silver shining armoured guard on each side.

“This is how Chageling magic feels?” the Prince inquires, as he hears the crackling of magic behind him as I seal the door behind us.

“Unsettling?” Shining Armour inquires with darkness to his voice.

“Scary, and revealing!” the Prince sighs, in a scared voice.

“I can’t say that I loved it, or even enjoyed it! This is your first taste of the true enemy!” Shining Armour pronounced, with conviction and utter certainty.

“Guess I can consider myself lucky, I never had to face the true horror in person!” the Prince prompted, quietly.

“Yes, lucky indeed!” Shining Armour responded, gravely.

“For what it is worth, now I know why we will have to stand up against the next attack!” the Prince responded, with more conviction than he had hoped to muster.

“That is the point of the exercise!” Shining Armour prompted, with all the authority of his post clearly in his voice.

“I have words to the effect, they will not give up so easily; Queen Chrysalis will be back, just a matter of how long it will take her to prepare for the next attack. I want to have our defences ready, by that time!” I point out, in a most urgent tone of voice.

“I was fearing as much!” Shining Armour sighed.

“Assuming I live through your training; I intend to stand tall and defend everypony under me, and every Pony in my care!” Prince Blöueblood exclaimed, still with a weak and haunted voice.

“You will be granted a week off, in order to recuperate and gain the strength required to take the punishment the exercises will dish out for you. Just as each Pony who is qualified to practice beside you, Prince!” I promised.

“I could certainly use the time of, after the ordeal!” the Prince mumbled, quietly.

“Yes, you certainly could; a wise choice, to accept the time, offered you from the start!” Shining Armour agreed, chuckling jovially at the situation.

“I hope at least a few more can make it; we will need a dozen at the very least!” I promptly pointed out.

“I can’t be everywhere, I need subordinates to manage the stations in my absence!” Shining Armour pondered, in a serious mood.

“I am certain, the cuisine will not be up to the standards you are used to, Prince; but in the circumstances, we are preparing for the worst! I hope you can make due, and adjust to what is before us!” I proclaimed, with a dark look and grim resolve in my voice.

“If we are preparing for war, and the enemy is as vile as you just made me believe; who am I to protest?” the Prince stumbled.

“Since you are on leave, you will not be sleeping in the barracks; I hope the bed is more to your liking, than the bed in the barracks would be!” Shining Armour pointed out, just as we turned to the right and entered a new hall.

”I will be posting a guard at this hall, for your protection, Prince!” I promised.

The prince was far too taken, to offer a word, merely nodding his acknowledgement.

“Here is your room!” Shining Armour announced, as he opened the door.

“Thank you, Capptain!” the prince spoke, as he slipped into the still fairly small room.

The two guards quietly deposited the Prince on the bed and slipped out of the room; closing the door behind themselves and trotted away on their next assignment.

“I hope he will make it!” Shining Armor pointed out; as we trotted back to the barracks, from the room given the Prince.

“I expect the guard to give us reports on how he is doing daily!” I pointed out, as we were out of earshot.

“The change of perspective should do him a world of good, now I can make him into a proper guard; even if it came at a price, I wish would not have to be exacted!” Shining Armour pointed out.

“We can only know, if the investment is paying: when the next attack comes, if and when that comes to pass! Before that, we should know if he makes it, within a week!” I declared.

“I imagine it was hard enough on you, just watching this!” Shining Armour prompted, with regret in his voice.

I just nodded; confirming what he already knew, but did not quite want to accept.

“Guard, you do know why I hoof picked you to take care of this recruit?” I asked.

“Other than my exemplary record? I have never met Prince Blueblood!” he responded, with some confusion and uncertainty to his voice.

“That is the point, I did not want a prior connection colouring the care!” I pointed out.

“So, I was the perfect choice; since I have no relation, with him?” he continued.

“I expect you, to give him exactly what I tell you to give him; no more and no less!” I confirmed.

“Great, then it did take hold; the good Prince will have a very interesting experience, ahead of him!” I pondered, as I saw the message.

“At least, the foal will have a very loving father; even if neither the foal nor the mother can be the wiser of who the father is!” I continued.

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Author's Note

Princess Twilight Sparkle's POV