So I guess I'm in the Royal Guard now?

Everything was quiet, a total contrast to how noisy the streets of Canterlot usually fared. There was still a soft hum of ponies speaking, but it was far more calm than she was used to, like they weren’t in a rush to get somewhere or somepony to be angry with once they got there. It wasn’t as cold as it normally was on the Canterlot streets, either, and the newspapers felt way more comfortable than they usually did.

Lightning Dust tried to open her eyes, but the exact moment she tried moving, she was filled with an insurmountable pain, reminding her once again of what she’d dealt with before falling asleep in the first place. It wasn’t too bad before, but now that the adrenaline had worn off and left her nerve endings to take over, she quickly remembered why she didn’t get into fights very often.

“Urk!”

“Princess! She’s awake!”

Princess? What was he talking about? For that matter, who even was he? She remembered hearing a voice right before she passed out, but was this the same guy? It wasn’t like she had much to compare the two voices with, and even then, she was still too exhausted to care. Maybe she at least had the strength to open her eyes now, though.

“Hnng…”

Again, once she tried to separate her eyelids, pain overwhelmed her, not from the bruises that probably coated her face and body, but rather the blinding light. She didn’t remember Canterlot ever being so bright before. What was even going on?

“Miss? Can you hear me?”

Huh? That voice was different. That was a girl’s voice. Was there somepony named ‘Princess’ there too? Now that she thought of it, it wouldn’t exactly be a surprise after knowing all the pretentious names she’d heard in this city already. Still, there was only one way to find out, and using up as much energy as she could, the pegasus slowly opened up her eyes, finally collecting all the completely new sensory information.

She was actually inside somewhere, and judging from all the white walls and the fact that she couldn’t move her body, she had a pretty good idea where. What she thought were newspapers was an actual, real life blanket, something she hadn’t felt in months, making her wonder how she’d ever survived without one for so long. What really caught her eye, though, was the sight of a flowing mane, making Lightning Dust’s jaw drop faster than her pain receptors could register.

“Princess… Twilight…?”

“Oh, good! You’re awake!” The princess looked over to the griffon sitting beside her with a beaming smile as he sighed a breath of relief. Then, looking back at the pegasus, Twilight continued. “You had us worried there. You’ve been asleep for the past two days.”

“Makes sense,” Lightning Dust said with a snicker. “It’s been a while since I got a good night's sleep.”

“You say that like that’s all that happened,” the griffon interrupted with a soft chuckle of his own. “You suffered a pretty bad concussion out there, and the malnutrition didn’t exactly help. I’m just glad I was able to find you in time.”

“Yeah, me too…” Lightning Dust tried to bring her hoof up to her aching head but decided the pain wasn’t worth it halfway up. “Ugh, where am I? I mean--I know where I am, but what am I doing here? I mean--I know what I’m doing here, but--”

“You were wondering what I’m doing here,” the princess interrupted before the pegasus could make things any more awkward.

Lightning Dust blushed in embarrassment. “Yeah, something like that.”

“Perhaps Gallus would like to answer that one.”

Twilight turned her face with a smile towards her griffon assistant, who tugged at his body armor nervously as if the room had just gotten stuffy all of a sudden. In all honesty, Lightning Dust didn’t really care who told her what happened. She just wanted somepony to clear up the confusion.

“R-right,” the griffon said, clearing his throat into his claw. “Well, it all started when I was out patrolling the streets of southwestern Canterlot. That’s when I heard somepony calling for help and rushed over as fast as I could to see what was happening. Thankfully we griffons can hear from much further distances than ponies, otherwise I might not have made it in time.”

“Brag much?”

Gallus gawked in offense, but Twilight continued to laugh. “You know what? Maybe you should finish the story, Princess.”

“Oh, don’t be like that,” Twilight said with the wave of her hoof. “You’re doing a great job. Besides, I wanna hear what happens next!”

Gallus grumbled under his breath, probably knowing that Lightning Dust was just going to keep making smart alecky comments so long as she could keep getting away with it. “So,” the griffon continued, “that’s when I found a stallion assaulting you and rushed in to intervene. Once I noticed you lying on the ground unconscious, I rushed you over to Canterlot General as fast as I could. Unfortunately, however, I regret to inform you that I wasn’t able to catch the stallion who did this to you in time. The perpetrator has yet to be apprehended.”

Made sense. As much as Clay liked to play close to the edge, he somehow always found a way to avoid getting caught. What would happen if they did find him, though? It wasn’t like anything would change. Lightning Dust seemed to be his only target, after all, and it wasn’t like she was totally innocent considering everything that had happened.

Lightning Dust leaned her head back deeper into her pillow, wincing at a sudden pain that trickled down her spine. “Don’t worry about him,” the pegasus said. “I think the royal guard has better things to do than trying to track down a bozo like him. I’ll drop all charges against him.”

Gallus gawked, his beak quivering in confusion before he finally lifted his head with confidence. “With all due respect, ma’am, the city of Canterlot is the one with the charges against him, not you.”

“It’s fine, Gallus,” the princess said, making Gallus gape in astonishment again. “As Princess of Equestria, I hereby waive any and all charges against him. Now keep going! We’re about to get to the best part!”

The griffon put his claw to his forehead and shook his head in annoyance. “Right. As I was saying, I brought you here to the hospital and alerted my commander as to what happened. Then, as it just so happened, Princess Twilight was in the room with me and--”

“And I decided to come along!”

Twilight suddenly beamed while Gallus continued to shake his head in embarrassment, but even after hearing what had happened, it still left one major question unanswered.

“Why…?”

The princess tilted her head curiously. “Why what?”

“Why me? What’s so special about me that the Princess of Equestria herself decided to visit me? I’m a nopony! I got beat up in an alley because I couldn’t afford a place to live! I--”

“Is that true?”

Lightning Dust’s ears perked up. “Is… what true?”

“You just said you can’t afford anywhere to live. Is that true?”

The pegasus shook her head while her jaw trembled awkwardly. She couldn’t let the princess know that she was homeless. She had too much pride for that.

“No! It’s not like that. I’m just uh… in between houses right now, so--”

“Gallus, go check her files. She is not to be discharged without a permanent address.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Before Lightning Dust could even offer her rebuttal, however, Gallus disappeared out the door and into the lobby, and just as Lightning Dust tried to sit up to stop him, the pain throughout her body immediately pulled her back down, causing her to grunt uncomfortably on the way back down. Great. Way to make a first impression with the princess of friendship. She’d just let her find out not only that she’d been beaten to a pulp by one of her clients, but also that she’d been sleeping under a newspaper for the past couple of months.

Just as Lightning Dust began to sulk in shame, the princess placed her hoof over her blanket, making the pegasus whip her neck to the side despite the discomfort. “Miss, can you tell me your name?”

Lightning Dust took the next moment thinking of how to respond until finally, she laid back down on her pillow and chuckled quietly. “Would it surprise you to hear that we’ve already met before?”

Twilight gawked. “We have?!”

“Yeah. I actually almost killed you once. Your friend Rainbow Dash saved you at the very last second, though. She always finds a way to make up for my mistakes.”

Twilight blinked in confusion. “You’re friends with Rainbow Dash?”

The pegasus chuckled. “No… Not really.”

For the next several seconds, Twilight continued to stare at Lightning Dust as if her gaze could pry more information out of her, but Lightning Dust continued to stare up at the ceiling. She’d already given up too much of her pride for one day. Just when she thought that she wouldn’t have to speak any more, however, Twilight’s horn lit up, shutting the door to her hospital room. Lightning Dust still couldn’t look over due to the pain, but she couldn’t help but at least glance over in Twilight’s direction, seeing the stern look in her eyes.

“Now,” she said in a little more than a whisper, “are you ready to tell me what really happened?”

Lightning Dust’s mouth trembled, awestruck at the princess’s sudden shift in demeanor. It wasn’t like Lightning Dust had lied to her or anything. She just hadn’t told her everything.

How could she…?

With a sigh, Lightning Dust looked up at the ceiling again, blinking furiously to keep herself from accidentally letting her emotions bubble to the surface. “It’s nothing,” the pegasus said, clearing her throat. “You heard what happened. I got the crud kicked out of me. What else is there to say?”

“Well, you can start by telling me how you got there in the first place.” Again, Lightning Dust felt her state of mind breaking, causing her to blink her eyelids even faster, but suddenly, the princess placed her hoof over Lightning Dust’s, giving her a deep, sympathetic frown. “Please. Tell me.”

The pegasus sniffed, shaking her head as she chuckled awkwardly. How was she supposed to tell the most important pony in Equestria that she’d been giving blowjobs to keep herself from starving? How could she tell a princess that she slept in alleyways, wrapped in newspapers because she was too proud to get a low-paying job that would barely meet her needs?

“I…” the teal mare began, her lips trembling, a single tear dripping down her cheek. “I don’t even know where to start.”

Thankfully, in the next moment, the door to her hospital room opened once again, revealing the griffon from earlier holding a manila folder in his claw. “It’s just like she said,” he began, flipping through the files. “No permanent address, no emergency contacts, no job that we know of.”

Again, Twilight turned towards Lightning Dust with urgency in her eyes. “How long have you been homeless?”

Lightning Dust turned to her side, groaning through the pain. “A couple of months. I was part of a stunt team called ‘The Washouts’, but because of me… there was an accident…”

Even though she had specifically turned to avoid looking at Twilight’s concerned face, Lightning Dust could still feel her moving closer. “What kind of accident?”

“I…” The pegasus swallowed a hard gulp. “I pushed one of my teammates too hard during one of our routines… and he completely shattered his leg. He may never be able to walk again, and it’s all my fault…”

There was a long silence that followed, making Lightning Dust wonder to herself whether or not she really should have given the princess that much information. Why was she taking so long to respond? Was she mad at her? Ashamed?

Disappointed…?

Finally, she heard Twilight inhale a deep breath, causing Lightning Dust to squeeze her eyes closed in preparation for the verbal beating she was about to get. “You’ve been taking it really hard, haven’t you?”

The response caught her off guard, and before she realized how much pain she was in, the pegasus quickly turned back around to face the alicorn. “Well… Yeah. The team ended up going our separate ways after that, and I just… I haven’t been able to find a job that--”

“A job that fits your personality?”

Again, Lightning Dust looked up, and this time, she was met with a bright smile that warmed her heart. “Y-yeah.”

“Well, that should be no problem. Gallus, didn’t you say we had an opening in the Royal Guard?”

Lightning Dust’s eyes went wide. “Wait, what?!”

The griffon seemed to share the same sentiment, his beak dropping before shaking his head to get his bearings back. “W-we do, but--”

“Perfect! It’s settled, then. Now all I need to know is your name.”

The teal mare rubbed the back of her head. Was this really happening?

“Uhh… Lightning Dust.”

“Well, Lightning Dust,” the princess continued, “you seem to be very responsible to have carried around a burden like that for as long as you have. I think the Royal Guard would be the perfect fit for somepony like you, don’t you agree?”

“I… guess so?”

In all honesty, Lightning Dust had no idea whether or not her personality came even close to what was required to be in the Royal Guard. She just knew she couldn’t work in retail. If the monarch of Equestria believed that she had what it took to be part of the most elite military group in the world, though, who was she to disagree with her? Besides, Lightning Dust’s whole life had been spent trying to push herself to new heights, to be a somepony. Maybe this was it, her real calling.

Then, with a newfound confidence, Lightning Dust lifted her head as high as the pain would allow and looked Twilight straight in the eye. “Your Highness, if you believe that the Royal Guard would be a good fit for somepony like me, then I’d be honored to join.”

“Great! You’ll start in two weeks once you’re officially discharged. Gallus, you’ll be her supervisor from now on.”

The griffon’s beak fell again. “Seriously?! I spent two years in the academy before you let me join!”

“Oh, please. You only spent that long in the academy because you wanted to be close to Silverstream.”

As Gallus continued to gawk, however, Lightning Dust began to chuckle, nudging at the bird’s side sarcastically. “Ooooo. Someone’s got a girlfriend.”

“What?! She’s not my girlfriend!”

“Awww. Who broke up with who?”

“She didn’t--I mean it wasn’t like--”

“Silverstream broke up with him,” Twilight intervened, making Lightning Dust giggle louder.

“Hey! It was mutual, OK?”

“Suuuure it was,” Lightning Dust cackled. “Don’t worry, boss. I’ll help find somepony for you.”

As Lightning Dust and Twilight shared a long-winded laugh, however, Gallus slapped his claw to his face, running it down his cheeks slowly in defeated exhaustion. “Ugh. I’d better enjoy these next two weeks.”