Prologue

Sun Beam always thought that she was just like any other pony within the elite Royal Guards that protected the Princesses.

Just like the other guards, she went out to patrol the castle, to stand at attention at ever entrance, and to serve every order given to her by her superiors. To her, she was no different or anything special within the guard. To her, she was just another soldier in a group that was said to be one of Equestria’s most elite fighting force. To her, she was just another guard.

But to her fellow guards, she was something special. For them, she was no ordinary guard, no she wasn’t. To them, she was the first female member of the Royal Guard in Equestrian history.

Looking at her reflection in the mirror, she stared at the white unicorn in front of her and inspected every detail. Scanning with her eyes, she made sure that the armor she was wearing was in top shape and that there was not a single stain that could dirty the polished plates she had on.

Giving a satisfactory smile, she nodded to herself and tried to let pride take over her, knowing that she had accomplished a lot in her young life.

For centuries, the Royal Guard has prided itself to be an all-male force, composed of nothing but the strongest and bravest colts in Equestria. For a long time, they have kept this tradition, only accepting male recruits for their force and only having males take up positions within the guard, whether it be a lowly private of a noble officer. Even through the years in which the mares of the land seemed to dominate the nation, the Guard upheld their tradition of being an all mare force.

But that all changed when Princess Celestia began making reforms towards the Guard, changing many things, including its traditions. Believing that the Royal Guard needed to keep up to date with the culture of modern day society, she began instigating social reforms within the Guard, changing the way it worked in order to improve it. One of the changes she made was the old tradition of only accepting males.

Seeing that accepting females to the guard would not only give access to more possible recruits, but also bring a sense of equality between both genders within the Guard, Princess Celestia created the new reforms, in hopes of creating a better and stronger Royal Guard. With the agreement of all the other Princess, she introduced the reforms to the Royal Guard and gave an order to implement them as soon as possible.

Of course, many in the guard sent complaints about this decision, sitting that it was breaking the old traditions of the Guard. But with their creed being to follow the orders of the Princess, these complaints soon disappeared, for they would follow the orders of their Colonel-in-chief, whether they liked it or not.

Opening the guard to females brought a lot of opportunity to many mares, mares like Sun Beams who had always dreamed of being in the Royal Guard.

Since she was young, she had always entertained the idea that one day she would be wearing the bright golden armor of the Royal Guard and serve at Canterlot Castle in order to protect the Princess and Equestria. Greatly influenced by her father, who was a member of the Royal Guard himself, she had always aspired to become a member of the golden suited protectors of the Princess.

But as she grew up, she began to realize that this dream might just stay as a dream. Soon realizing that only males were accepted in the Guard, she was greatly disappointed and depressed, realizing that her dream job might never be fulfilled.

It hurt even more, when her cutie mark, a shield with a golden sun in the middle, basically said that she was destined to be a member of the Royal Guard. But at the time, it seemed that it would never be, for the traditions withheld her from being a Guard.

Defeated, and seeing that her dream was just not meant to be, she had instead applied for a job as a Police Pony, seeing that it seemed close enough to the job she had wanted. Here, in the police force, she had served with great distinction, catching criminals and patrolling the streets of Canterlot in order to ensure the safety of the ponies there. She might not be protecting Equestria in the highest and most prestigious job, but at least she was protecting it.

But although she enjoyed her job as a Police Pony, that call in her heart always told her that she had more potential within the Royal Guard, that she would be happier there and that she would excel within their ranks, just like her father.

So when Princess Celestia’s reforms came to the Royal Guard and when Sun Beam first heard that the Guard was finally accepting mares within the ranks, she was one of the first ponies to step forward and sign up.

True to what her cutie mark showed and to what her heart was telling her, she aced through basic training, excelling and becoming more proficient with each day she spent. Soon, she had outperformed the other mares within her batch, and even some of the strong and intelligent colts too.

Although she didn’t have the skill and brains to be an officer, she made a good grunt, knowing all the maneuvers, fighting styles, and regulations the Guard has taught her. By the end of the course, she had become the top of her class and the only mare in her batch to finish the training course, making her the first female guard in the history of the Royal Guard.

For days, Sun Beam had relished at this title and had accepted it prestigiously. The first female guard, she had thought, she would be remembered for centuries to come. She took it with pride knowing that out of all the other mares in her batch, she was the only one who passed. She was the only one who was strong enough, quick enough, and smart enough, to be a member of the Royal Guard.

But after setting hoof on her new job at Canterlot castle and being assigned to her new unit, she began to regret the fact that at the moment, she was the only females guard within the force. She was but one mare in force that was currently dominated by colts.

At first, it was nothing but mere annoyance, for during their times off, the colts just seemed to place more attention to her. Treating her as if she were an ordinary mare who happened to walk into the castle, they tried getting close to her and attract her attention. Being too affectionate and kind to her were the things they mostly did during those early days, and she often brushed it aside, thinking that it would wear off after they got used to her presence there.

But as time went by, it seemed their affectionate attempts at attention seemed to turn into harassment. From ogling at her flanks as she passed by to trying to catch peeks beneath her tail when she was in the locker room, this were but few of the things the colts did that were starting to get on her nerves.

Normally, she would have complained about this and would have told a superior officer about these harassments. But after having debated over it, she decided to not do anything and just let it cool off.

Seeing that she was the newest member and a newbie within their ranks, this was probably just their way of welcoming her. Every organization has its ways in welcoming its members, she had told herself. Whether it be harassment or a party, it was all the same. It was their way in saying welcome to the guard.

“I’ll just have to get used to it, till they see me as one of their own.” Sun Beam told herself, as she looked away from the mirror and turned towards the door of her room.

Since she was currently the only female Guard in the force, nopony but her occupied the room that was supposed to be the barracks for the female guards. Walking the long empty hall of the barracks, she wondered when it would be before these area would be filled with other mare Guards.

“Not till a long time.” She told herself, knowing that the next batch of recruits only contained about half a dozen mares. And those numbers were still questionable, since she didn’t know how many of them would pass. If any of them would pass at all.

Walking out the barracks and into the parade ground the Royal Guard used for drill and training. Located just behind the Royal Castle and on flat ground, the parade ground and barracks’ were just a short trot from the post which the Royal Guard takes for guard duty.
Already knowing where she was assigned today, which was sentry duty by the castle’s northern tower, she started to head straight for the castle and into her assigned post.

But just as she was to enter the gate that separated the Royal Guard’s to the main castle, she noticed that a familiar looking guard was standing there and seemingly waiting for her.

Standing stoic and tall by the gate and having his eyes glued on Sun Beams, Corporal Silver Lance, Sun Beam’s squad leader, called out to her in his usual monotone voice. Always serious and dedicated to his job, Sun Beam didn’t remembered a time where she saw him relaxed and out of the usual plain unemotional look of the Royal Guard. Maybe that was just his normal look, she had thought to herself.

“Private Sun Beam-“ Golden Lance said, once she was standing in front of him. “-Sergeant Gold Cloak request to see you immediately.”

This peaked Sun Beam’s attention, as she raised an eyebrow in curiosity. What would the platoon sergeant need of her at this time of day?

“But, corporal, I have sentry duty by the north tower and need to be there as soon as possible. I don’t think I can meet up with the Sergeant right now.”

“That has already taken care off. Private White Hoof has already taken your place on that post. Now, come along-“ Silver Lance said, taking a step forward back towards the Royal Guard’s area, as he urged her to follow. “-we can’t keep the Sergeant waiting. He says that he has important business for you.”

For a moment, Sun Beam didn’t know what to do. The entire thing seemed just too odd for her and she hesitated to follow. But having been indoctrinated to follow all orders no matter what, she soon fell in line behind Silver Lance, curious to what this may lead too.

As she followed close behind, she noticed something odd, something she did not expect to see.

Is he grinning right now? She thought to herself, knowing that such a sight was a rare thing to see.