The princesses and the beast

It was after your successful Discord rescue and the joy returning to the face of the tender Fluttershy that you felt you were still approaching your goal. In addition, your new weapons and your own armor have given rise to one final change. You now have a new name.

Your father never thought he'd have a son who'd change his weapon of choice, but he had to. Your old spear has been used throughout your upbringing to fight alongside him, and now that you've become a new emblem, it's time.

Your new name would fit your ideas and represent them. Your name today, with the blessing of the princesses:

Leonidas

And it was under this name that your fame began in Equestria. You would think that Shining Armor would remain your superior for a while, but Princess Celestia decided otherwise. She granted you the rank of captain of the field forces of the royal guard, implying to be a warrior respected by your men for the orderly battles you would have to fight. This new position created especially for you is thus equal to that of Shining Armor itself, spanking you as captains of the entire Equestria Royal Guard as well as teammates.

While he will be in charge of the kingdom's defence strategies, you will be in charge of its offensive strategies, and although Equestria is a peaceful land, you will be expected to develop a wide range of strategies for all types of opponents.

It is also thanks to this position that you have been granted a special audience to introduce yourself to the thousands of ponies discovering you for the first time.

With your prepared text and clear intentions, you announced yourself, orally or transcribed in the newspapers:

"It is a great honour to be able to address the whole of Equestria on this special occasion. My name is Leonidas, captain of the field forces of the Royal Guard and second captain of the Royal Guard, as well as the Shining Armor, which you already know. My long term goal is that the whole kingdom may live without fear of enemy attacks and that you may be happy. It's only been a few days so I'm not used to your society, but Princess Twilight taught me that smiling is a sign of happiness and prosperity here. That's why I'm opposed to this and would only smile when my mission is finally accomplished, when Equestria no longer has to worry about the dangers outside the kingdom. I solemnly thank you for listening to me and wish you a prosperous life."

Once his words were spoken, you put your hoof on your chest and closed your eyes, Shining Armor having advised you to pose for the newspaper photo. After leaving this important meeting with the civilization you swore to protect, you noticed that it only took a few minutes for the publishers to sell your statement in Canterlot, and then quickly, all the rest of Equestria.

As your influence began to be recognized, you hastened to begin your real first job.

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"HEY, LANCE, DID I DREAM IT, OR DIDN'T YOU WATCH THE WONDERBOLT SHOW? WHILE I WAS IN IT !!!" You ask without smiling for the cyan mare known as Rainbow Dash in the middle of a hallway full of ponies drawn to your conversation by the looks on their faces.

"I did it at first, and I must say your abilities are quite exceptional, but I have a lot of work to do, so I had to..." You try to argue before you get cut.

"IT'S GOOD! It doesn't matter, after all." She said after exhaling air noisily out of her mouth, representing a sign of exasperation if you remember correctly. "Follow me, I'll introduce you to the other wonderbolts."

Despite your many responsibilities, you still had to learn under the tutelage of Princess Twilight and her five friends the concept of friendship and emotion still eluding you somewhat. You had to be with one of them every day to learn more, and Rainbow Dash chose to show you other real stars on that first day.

"You're becoming a celebrity with your status, so you absolutely have to meet others. And it's not just princesses that are important in Equestria, follow me and you'll see!" She had told you.

And although the concept of celebrity was still obscure in your mind, and you doubted that people were as important as princesses, you had to content yourself with nodding and following her.

You were astonished by its extraordinary air speed, having had difficulty following it yourself on this flight to the city of the Pegasus: Cloudstale.
You think this is due to her small size, but you wouldn't mind asking her for a few tricks to be even more efficient in aerial combat.

She and her boyfriend Thunderlane, who you understood to be in a relationship close to marriage without really being married, had recently become wonderbolts. While the Pegasus defined them without argument as "the coolest ponies in all of Equestria", you were happy to get a more concrete view of her stallion with the original mane. Elite athletes specialising in high acrobatics, acrobatics and speed competitions and the way he described them, which already made more sense to you.

So you have just witnessed one of their many demonstrations of speed and aerial control, but still need to advance in your work in the Royal Guard, being your primary objective. So you kept your primary attention on the paperwork you were filling out in your spectator seat, a complex task with the unintended attention on you created. Many ponies stare at you during the show, creating a semblance of disorganization quickly arranged by your unfailing seriousness.

But this cost you a difficulty with the cyan pegasus, which instead liked to be in the center of attention. So now you were following Rainbow Dash with her tight aerodynamic outfit, in a corridor where all eyes seemed to be unable to turn away from you for the change. The many ponies must surely be worried about protecting their beloved kingdom, spanking you to work harder without looking ahead so as not to disappoint them. Or are they just astonished at my decidedly peculiar physique? You didn't know and decided to ignore it.

Until the cyan mare stops at a door.

"That's it, so you take her documents out of your eyes, you go say hello to everyone and learn how great they are, understand?" She says to you as she tries to open it.

You hardly understood any of the terms she usually used, but you couldn't help it.

"I'm sorry, but what does genius mean? Is it a synonym for "cool" given your similar use of it to talk to me about wonderbolts?"

Faced with your question, she just exhaled again and lowered her head before going in. You thought you'd answered just because of her lack of repartee, which is not unusual though, and unfortunately for you. You finally followed her, lowered your head so that you could pass through the wrong door your body, and were quickly stopped.

"Friends, may I present the second in command of the royal guard, Leonidas!" Did she introduce you before she was almost run over by a few of her comrades rushing at you?

"WOW!! IT'S REALLY TRUE, THEN!? A pony that big can exist?" It's exclaimed a white pegasus with a blue mane. The stars in his eyes puzzled you as to his condition, it was definitely not normal.

"It's a pleasure to make the acquaintance of such a shining stallion." Did you hear from a blue mare with a white mane spiked backwards. Her eyes and tone of voice sounded very much like Rarity's, which was a good enough indication that you should avoid her.

"Thus the great Leonidas honors us with his visit!" Said a third new voice to what sounded like a bar. "You may come and sit down if you feel like it!" She said.

A yellow-brown coat and a fiery mane, no doubt Rainbow Dash has repeated her name and title enough to remember it today. Spitfire, current captain of the wonderbolts and a seasoned sportswoman. She was the only one who no longer wore the academy's aerobatic outfit and, sitting on a stool with her arms on the table, she offered you the one next to her.

You just watched Rainbow Dash, who was next to Thunderlane, and they would nod to you to join her. You nodded, nodded to the other Wonderbolts present, and you sat in the place indicated, to the right of the Captain.

"You are Spitfire, the present captain of the Wonderbolts?" Did you ask, just to be polite.

"That's right, and I'm flattered that someone new like you should know me!" She said before she took a sip of a liquid you didn't know you had, but didn't smell like water.

"It's hard to ignore your reputation when Rainbow Dash is always telling me about you during my workouts." Did you clarify, unconsciously bringing all eyes to the now reddish mare.

You've arranged your documents about offensives against the minotaurs on the map in front of you, making sure that no trace of dirt would get on them. You even began to think about how to attack the southern flank of their territory as Spitfire continued.

"Well, Leonidas, I want you to know that Rainbow Dash also told me about you and your exploits. You've risen through the ranks quickly because of your dedication and skill, and I think that deserves my respect." Did she answer you by not looking at you the way you used to look at her...

Behind you, Rainbow Dash thought it was inappropriate for you to address her superior, but it didn't seem to bother her herself, so you ignored it. Wonderbolt discussions resumed as you had an open question in your mind.

"I only looked at you for a few minutes in all, but I noticed that your abilities are quite impressive. Why not join the Royal Guard of Equestria, you'd be more useful to the kingdom from my point of view!" Tell you what, by continuing to write on your papers.

You did hear that the background chatter had stopped and some ponies got up from their chairs and left their tables to turn to you. You didn't expect so much attention from other celebrities, but it was about their profession, so it concerned them enough to fix you seriously.

Except for Rainbow Dash's remark.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!" She got indignant before Thunderlane clogged her lips with his hoof. Before long, he even had to restrain her from rushing at you.

Your peripheral vision didn't bring any change in attitude from Spitfire though, being the only one who didn't at least turn her head. She still had her glass in her hoof, and you could see her reflection through the liquid. She was always smiling.

"That's an interesting question worth asking, so I'll give you my answer." Did she start to answer, giving you a chance to look at her for the first time and stop focusing on your papers. "That's a resounding no!" She said, bringing her gaze to meet your one eye, relaxing her lips.

"Why say no?" Ask yourself then.

"Defending Equestria may be a major concern, but from what you yourself have said, it is not your primary objective." she continued, spanking you to permanently drop the pen. "Your goal is to protect Equestria for the good of its people, and that's exactly what the Wonderbolts are all about. We serve to make them smile, to amaze them and to make them understand that anything is possible if you have the will to accomplish it. Our goal is common, but our ways are different. Do you think joining the Kingsguard would give us the same reputation as today, as a symbol of talent and determination?" She finally asked you.

Her argument and her question left you hanging, forcing you to stare at your almost completed papers and think about it. Is it not useful in a kingdom at peace to have only an army and commanders as popular ponies, would it not be preferable that in such a register, the society of entertainment and values be in the forefront?

It is true that Equestria has not suffered a major attack for a long time, with attempts to attack other worlds being repelled by only two ponies before, and now only by you.

Your father constantly reminds you how devastating the past attacks were for the kingdom, back when he was just another soldier. Thinking that the situation was as critical as he described it, you were trained to put an end to it. And today, when you have sufficient rank and influence to achieve that goal, you see with your own eyes that the situation is not as you thought it would be.

Equestria was already on good footing, the ponies and other races living there were happy even before your arrival. And that was thanks to models like the Wonderbolts could represent it. Should they be removed and made too busy people like you for extra protection from the outside world. It seemed like a bad idea in every way you could treat it.

"I think your fame would be different, but it's not the one Equestria needs most." Have you finally started to respond. "I understand your point of view better and thank you for that statement. I've only been here for a week, I still have much to learn in order to carry out my duties to the best of my ability."

Your answer seemed to satisfy many a pegasus who were returning to their seats, giving you the impression they didn't like your first request. Thunderlane loosened his grip on the cyan mare, who took on a calmness you rarely saw from her.

"Glad to hear it and to have enlightened you on the subject." Said Spitfire. "Take the time to learn more about how we walk here and everywhere else in Equestria. Speaking of which, you could use a drink, on the house." Said she as she looked at the pony across the table.

He went to work and probably concocted for you the same flavor that the yellowed mare was drinking again. He brought the drink to you next to your documents, forcing you to take them back under your elbow.

You smelled the unknown nectar with suspicion, it made you think of flavored coconut juice. If that was all you could do, you might well accept the offer, even though the food used was not common in the frozen mountains.

"Thank you for this." Did you say before you brought the glass to your snout and took a deep, controlled sip.

You shouldn't have done that.

"Why does it sting my lips and my throat?"