This was it, Canterlot, the land of infinite possibilities, and endless adventure. At least according to the locals that was. It didn't seem that special to him, just another big city, flashing lights, luminous residents that believed they stood one peg above others. They didn't, but that was part of what made Canterlot so special. It was the city of those rich, powerful, or foolish enough to believe that they should walk among gods. That wasn't his reason for being there, though. He had a job to do, ironically enough, in the halls of Canterlot Castle, the home of the immortals, the alicorns.
A grey coated pony, bearer of this duty, slowly wove his way through crowds as he approached his destination, towering above him in a grand fashion, akin to a mountain. The windows shone, guards stood at attention, awaiting their next orders, and the doors of said castle were firmly locked shut, composed of beautiful oak, likely imported if the regal reputation of the castle matched its physical representation. He approached the doors before he was stopped by the white coated guards on duty at the time, dressed in imposing armour that no doubt cost several thousand bits.
"State your business." The one on the right said.
"I have business with the captain of the Canterlot Guard, he's expecting me around this time. I'm here to begin my post as an elite royal guard." He responded in kind. The two guards looked at each other sceptically. He immediately picked up on the cause of the scepticism. They were glancing at his shoulders and the top of his head. Nothing adorned either area. No wings, no horn. A perfectly normal earth pony. It wasn't like there was a shortage of earth ponies in Canterlot, but when it came to earth ponies in the military, that was a much rarer sight. The only thing that gave his claim any merit was the fact that his cutie mark consisted of a beautifully engraved sword surrounded by a flame in a ring pattern. The mark of a soldier.
"We think you have the wrong pony." The one on the right continued. "The captain is already awaiting company, and we're sure he doesn't want to be disturbed."
"No. I'm quite positive that I am in the right place. I scheduled my appointment three weeks ago." The two again looked at each other sceptically.
"We can assure you that you are in the wrong place, and you definitely are not an elite royal guard." The one on the left finally spoke up. "Now, we are going to have to ask you to leave. The grey pony requesting entrance was unsure whether or not to drag this out so he could really rub it in their faces, or if he should just put them out of their misery. Luckily for them, he was in a gracious mood. He pulled out a few sheets of paper, held together by a paperclip, and presented it to the one on his right. He could immediately tell that he was getting worried, perhaps he was wrong to jump to conclusions. Shock briefly passed over their faces before they scrambled to salute the pony with the grey coat and beige mane that curved upwards, and a tail that started as a gentle rise, but descended into a rapid slope. They split apart, allowing him entrance, as the gates opened they apologised profusely. "Sorry for the confusion, sir!" The one on the left said. The grey pony nodded his forgiveness as he trotted into the grand palace of the two alicorn sisters, Celestia and Luna.
He was well aware of the direction he needed to travel. The garrison quarters were to the right and the office of the captain was up the stairs. However, he was surprised when five others joined him in walking towards the office. He could tell by the way they carried themselves that the were also there to be sworn in as guards. He wasn't sure why this surprised him. If every royal guard got their own day to be sworn in, the throne hall would constantly be booked. Regardless, he couldn't help but smile at the diversity of the group before him. There were three mares and three stallions, him included. This didn't surprise him. Large stocky individuals rarely made it into the royal guard. They were never nimble enough for training. Training caters more towards those who can do everything decently, and some things better. This way, they're equipped to handle most situations and excel at others. For these reasons, no gender has an advantage. In regards to species, there were three unicorns, two pegasi, and one of him, an earth pony, first of his kind to make it into the guard. Considering graduation rates for unicorns and pegasi, who generally were considered more useful and diverse than earth ponies, was around 2%, he considered himself something of a prodigy. The six of them reached the captain's office, but none of them were sure whether to knock or wait. Finally, the grey pony decided to inform the captain of their presence. The captain was a pony, just like them, it wasn't like he was about to meet princess Celestia or something. He knocked, gently, still unsure of himself, but he really didn't have too much to worry about.
"Come in." A voice called from the office. The six entered, lining up and standing at attention. They were greeted by a red-coated stallion, he looked older, but not elderly. His mane was a dark shade of grey, done in a comb-over, and his tail was cut somewhat short, simply hanging, nothing too fancy, and eyes were dark green, they truly showed his age. Late fifties most likely. Wings adorned his sides. "Hello there, squad 39 recruits. It is good to meet you all."
"Likewise, sir." A unicorn mare on the far right said.
"My name's Ember, Ember Comet. You may all call me Captain Ember, however, rather than using my surname." He paused for a second before he continued speaking, "Now then, we'll do a roll call and then we can head down to the royal hall for your confirmation as elite royal guards. Just, step forward and state your name, I'll check you off my list and you can head down to prepare. We'll start from your right." He looked at the light blue coated mare, with a red mane and tail, both done in elegant but simple curves. Her horn stuck through her mane and her eyes matched her mane in colour, if not a little darker. Her cutie mark consisted of a rhombus-shaped ruby, with a spiral of blue light twisting around it. She took a step forward.
"Crystal Star, reporting for duty." She said, saluting the captain.
"Nice to meet you, Crystal, you're dismissed." He said in kind, and off she headed to change into her armour for the ceremony. Next up was a dark green coated stallion, relatively fit, in terms of an elite soldier that is. A black mane adorned his head in a messy quiff, and his tail was quite long in comparison, fluffy but messy, just like his mane. His cutie mark consisted of a black arrow with a veil of translucent white light emitted from the tip. It lagged behind as the arrow seemed to be travelling quite fast. The interesting part was that you could still see his coat under it.
"Pierce, Pierce Platinum."
"Ah yes, I know you, you come from a famous family of soldiers, correct?"
"Yes, sir."
"Dismissed." Pierce headed down to the armoury as well. The next pony stepped forward, a mare pegasus, however, it wasn't her looks that caught his attention, at least not immediately. It was her expression. She wasn't smiling, in fact, she was certainly frowning. Her eyes bore a tired, unamused expression. As for her appearance, she was a yellow-orange colour, with a cyan mane. It was cut relatively straight, and all hung to one side. Her tail followed the same pattern, overall a relatively military look. Her cutie mark was no joke either. It was a gold encrusted spear, with a triangular line originating at the tip and curving outwards, insinuating that the spear was on the move. The grey pony could immediately tell she was not to be messed with and made a mental note to get to know her better.
"Aurora Swift, reporting for duty, sir." She said.
"Something the matter, recruit?" The captain asked.
"No, sir." She responded.
"Then consider smiling once in awhile."
"Yes, sir." She remarked, saluting him with less than no enthusiasm. The captain sighed.
"Dismissed." Next, a white coated unicorn with a sky blue mane walked forward. His mane was styled in a simple due, brushed off to the side. His tail was very short, messy, and his cutie mark was a representation of his magical abilities. A star of ice with a blue wisp running behind it. Chances were he was a magical specialist. Whether or not he specialised in ice magic or even crystal magic was up for debate. It may have just looked like that to match his coat and mane. He stepped forward.
"Winter Night." He stated, Ember smiled and said,
"Interesting name."
"Thank you, my parents gave it to me." He said.
"Thanks for the information, but I kind of figured that out on my own."
"Right. Sorry, I'll just go then." He slowly turned around, glancing back, before walking away. The grey pony couldn't help but laugh a little. Being the only one in the room, Captain Ember turned to face him.
"You seem to be in a good mood." The captain remarked.
"It's a good day." He said back. The captain smiled.
"Indeed it is. Now, let's get your name so we can get you sworn in."
"Daylight Star sir, it's good to meet you."
"Likewise. Now then, let's get suited up, I'm sure you're eager to start the ceremony."
"Indeed." Daylight responded. The two started to walk towards the armoury, as they needed to change into ceremonial armour before the ceremony could begin. Along the way, the captain decided to inquire into the nature of the royal guard's sixth member.
"You must be very proud, being the first earth pony to make it into the royal guard." Ember said.
"It feels odd, sir. I was sure that I wouldn't be picked."
"Why is that?"
"Well, I can't walk on clouds, and I can't cast a spell to make myself, which means Cloudsdale's off my radar. I don't know any magic, I can't fly, and I'm definitely not a genius. I don't have any high connections, I'm just an earth pony, that's it."
"Well then, you must be quite the fighter." Captain Ember remarked.
"I've been told. Number one in my class. Even beat out some powerful unicorns." Daylight responded.
"Very impressive. Perhaps you and I could spar sometime?"
"That would be nice, sir." The two of them reached the armoury, slipping into beautifully engraved and gold plated white armour, made to match Celestia's white and gold theme. Daylight stopped to admire himself for a second. The armour was custom tailored to fit him perfectly and had been carefully maintained over the weeks it had been stored. It was brilliant, but would be highly inefficient for combat. Too many gaps. He slipped the helmet over his head and walked out to line up with the rest of his squad. He didn't know any of them personally, thousands had gone into basic training, hundreds made it to secondary training, and thus they had to be split apart into smaller groups for more specialised training. Regardless, he was sure that he would get to know them during his time at the castle. The captain of the guard soon followed suit, standing in front of them. He pulled out a scroll with his magic, and began to read aloud.
