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

by PRlNCESS CADENCE

Rating: teen
Tags: Twilight Sparkle, Lightning Dust, Violence, Gallus, Drama, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Romance, Sex
Length: 10464

Lightning Dust is forced onto the streets after her life takes a downswing. Then, once a griffon finds her at the worst possible time, Lightning Dust's life changes in a way that she never imagined. Now she's part of... the Royal Guard?!

Lightning Dust has been living on the streets of Canterlot ever since the Washouts decided to go their separate ways. She always thought that her life would be filled with crowds cheering her name, but now, she doesn't even want them to know she exists.

Can anypony help her now? Does she even deserve help? Or is this just her life now...?

That's when she's found by someone who just might be the answer. How does being part of the Royal Guard sound?

Commission for Sunset_Shimmer83

Published 2021-02-13 18:10:01 UTC
Last updated 2021-02-15 17:40:29 UTC

Chapter 1

These guys are all the same. Every last one of them.

Everything about her had been broken at some point in her life, from her wings to her legs and even her tail at one point, but her pride was still hanging on by a single, small thread. She was better than this, she knew that, but her situation, on the other hoof, told a different story.

A small shiver ran up Lightning Dust’s body as a slight wind chill dashed against her fur. Then, pulling a newspaper over her torso, she looked up with a glare towards a stallion passing by. The pony gawked at first, but then he lifted his nose in the air and walked away with a haughty stride. Even if she smiled, even if she tried asking for help or respectfully explaining her situation, he would make up some kind of excuse about how he had an appointment he was running late for or another pony he was keeping waiting.

They were all the same. Nopony was really as empathetic as they thought they were.

Of course, it wasn’t like she hadn’t tried changing the situation she was in. When she first realized that she’d be on the streets, she did everything she could to get a normal job just like everypony else, but the one thing she couldn’t do was sell herself short, even if it meant a day or two of going hungry or another night enduring the harsh Canterlot winter. It was still a wonder how anypony could voluntarily run themselves dry for a wage that was barely enough for a crappy apartment downtown, or worse, customer service.

Another shiver ran through her body, but there weren’t enough newspapers in all of Equestria to keep her heart from freezing up about a nightmare like that. Of course, she still needed to find ways to support herself, even in the wilderness of Canterlot’s back alleys; food didn’t pay for itself after all, and it wasn’t like the dumpsters behind the local restaurants were all-you-can-eat buffets. Besides, she still had her pride, albeit a twisted version of what it used to be.

Even when she worried about starving or freezing to death half the time she spent awake, she still wouldn’t allow herself to cave in to what a normal pony in desperation would do. They’d suck it up and find some way to live a minimal quality of normal life, still in the lower-class albeit not homeless, but to Lightning Dust, it was all or nothing. If anything, she was cocky about how low her standard of living could be before she caved in to society’s base standards, even if it meant the things she’d be doing instead were far less tolerable than a minimum wage job.

Then, as if on cue, the already dim light behind the sheet of white clouds became blocked out by a shadow that cast over the mare’s body, making the frigid temperatures even colder. Lightning Dust glared at the gray stallion that stood above her, blocking the little warmth she had, but the stallion simply smiled, either oblivious or indifferent to the discomfort his presence was causing her.

“Hey, Dusty,” he said quietly.

Lightning Dust growled, scrunching her body even tighter underneath her newspapers. “I thought I told you never to call me that again.”

“You’ve told me to never do lots of things. Doesn’t mean I’ll listen, though.”

Lightning Dust turned onto her other side, now facing a brick wall like he would just leave if she ignored him long enough. She knew that wouldn’t happen, though. She just didn’t feel like talking anymore, even though she knew he still did.

“So what’re you up to these days?” the stallion asked in a condescending tone. Lightning Dust grit her teeth but refused to answer. “Hope I didn’t catch you at a bad time.”

“What do you want, Clay?”

Finally, the stallion stepped forward into the alley, allowing the faint sun to once again glow down on Lightning Dust as he strode into the shadows of the adjacent buildings. “The usual.”

“Get somepony else to do it. I’m busy today.”

“Oh, I can see that.” This time, Lightning Dust pulled her newspapers over her face, feeling an unwelcome breeze against her hind legs, but at least she wouldn’t have to look at him anymore. “Hey, if you wanna play hard to get, I can keep going. I’ve got all day.”

“Leave me alone or I’ll scream.”

Clay grinned. “No you won’t. Can you imagine how embarrassing that’d be, having everypony think that you were weak and needed their help? That just doesn’t sound like the Lightning Dust I know.”

“What do you know about me?!”

In the heat of the moment, Lightning Dust leapt to her hooves, leaning forward and pressing her nose up against Clay’s, but the stallion didn’t move a muscle. The harder she glared, the wider his grin spread along his cheeks.

“I know what you’d do for money,” Clay replied, making Lightning Dust flinch. “I mean, did you ever think your life would wind up like this? Just imagine what would happen if you knew back when you were a filly that you’d wind up here… alone… with me.”

The stallion winked, but Lightning Dust clicked her tongue, turning away with a scowl on her face. Sure, they weren’t technically alone, but they might as well be. If they took just a few steps further back into the dark alley between the two buildings beside them, even the ponies passing by would be too preoccupied with their own lives to notice they were there. They were all the same. Every last one of them.

“So?” the stallion continued. “What specials are you running today?”

“It’s called the ‘Get Lost. I don’t feel like it.’”

“You know, I heard that there’s a pretty big snowstorm on its way this weekend, and I might just be able to afford a night at that motel a couple blocks down from here.”

Again, Lightning Dust grit her teeth. As much as she hated talking to this guy, she knew it would be hard to pass down a deal like that, especially since this blizzard seemed to be all the newspapers were talking about this week. In all honesty, it wasn’t like he was ever the worst pony to do business with--at least he was better than what she’d deal with working in the service industry--but there was still her pride… or what left of it she had, anyway. It was hard to tell which was worse: a blizzard, or doing anything that would make this chump happy.

“Forget it,” she replied, getting up and shaking the dirty papers off of her torso. “I’m gonna go find some food. Don’t follow me.”

She didn’t wait for his response. Instead, she pulled herself out of the dark alley, trying to blend in with the crowd despite the stark contrast in her cleanliness alone. Of course, almost immediately, she started getting disgusted glares from the ponies around her, but she just scowled back at them, marching forward despite how much they probably wanted her to go back into hiding. If they knew what it was like to be down on their luck, maybe then they’d think twice about judging a girl’s morning breath. Of course, they’d never have to deal with something like this because they made “better choices”, like living on the streets was only for the riff raff who spent their lives being lazy or selfish.

These guys were all the same. Every. Last. One of them.

After walking a few blocks down, she turned the corner and wound up in yet a different dark alley, this one behind one of the local food joints. They weren’t exactly thrilled to have Lightning Dust scouring around their dumpsters, but so long as she didn’t get caught most of the time, it wasn’t like they’d be particularly inconvenienced. Besides, she liked the breadsticks they tossed out.

The teal pegasus reached up and flipped the lid of the dumpster open, hovering slightly to get an aerial view of the contents before deciding whether or not it was worth diving in. It was still the middle of lunchtime for most of the guests at the restaurant, so it wasn’t like they’d have much thrown away yet, but this was also when she’d find the over-cooked entrees before the real garbage came out.

“Nice! Panhaykes!”

She loved it when ponies came by for brunch. The chefs sucked at making traditional breakfast food, which meant that they usually threw out way more waffles and panhaykes than their restaurant could afford. Just as she was about to sink into the dumpster, however, a shadow walked into the alley, making Lightning Dust silently hope that she wouldn’t have to compete for food. She really wasn’t in the mood today.

“Well, well, well. Looks like some ponies never change.”

Of course, her luck only ever lasted so long. He didn’t even need to follow her. He knew this was where she’d be. Lightning Dust only had two real places she ever went: the back of the restaurant to eat, and the back of the old apartment building to lay down. They were the perfect spots to fit her needs, but that also meant that she was predictable, always right where Clay knew he would be able to find her.

“Could you not bug me right now?” the pegasus asked with a bite in her tone. “I’m trying to get some lunch before the owner shows up and kicks me out again.”

“Trying to get some grub, huh? I bet those napkins must be pretty tasty.”

“Oh, go screw yourself. I’m busy.”

Lightning Dust could tell that he’d just press the issue further if she continued communicating with him, so rather than entertaining him any further, she pulled her limbs in together and dropped into the dumpster. She had to act fast, though. It would only be a matter of time before he threatened to tell the boss that she was in there, which meant that not only was the garbage can going to be her pantry for the day, there was a good chance it was going to be her dining room too.

Quickly, the mare grabbed the panhaykes she’d spotted earlier and shoved them into her mouth, chewing as fast as she could so that she could at least survive for the day without going hungry. Getting to enjoy the taste wouldn’t be an option this time, but hey, if it meant not going hungry, she knew how to pick her battles.

“Dusty, Dusty, Dusty. You just never learn, do you?”

Again, Lightning Dust hurriedly chomped down on her food, doing her best to swallow as much as she could in hopes that she’d actually be able to finish in time. She would have begged him to give her just two more minutes, but knowing Clay, it was probably better to just spend the time she had left chewing.

“You know, I think you’ve had plenty of chances,” the stallion continued. “You know you’re not allowed to just sleep in the alleys and eat in the dumpsters. At least not in Canterlot. It’d be a shame if somepony were to tip off the nice gentlemen downtown about a mare who’s been trespassing on private property. Then again, they might be able to find you a nice home, if you know what I mean.”

No. No, no, no! Clay had done some shady things before, but this was on a whole new level! Was he seriously threatening to call the cops on her now?! With all the strength her jaw muscles would allow, Lightning Dust scarfed down what little food she had left and hovered into the air, still chewing as she landed in front of the stallion giving her a wide smirk.

“Good choice.”

Finally, Lightning Dust swallowed, heaving heavy breaths that she hadn’t been able to manage in her desperate feeding frenzy. “What… do you want… Clay?”

“I told you. The usual.”

“Fine! Let’s just go back to my spot before somepony--”

“No, I think I’ve done enough waiting, Dusty. I want it here.”

Lightning Dust flinched, looking around in every direction to make sure nopony was eavesdropping before she leaned her head in closer to whisper. “You know we can’t do it here! These guys take out the garbage like every twenty minutes! If we end up getting caught, we’ll both be in trouble!”

Clay, though, shook his head with a soft, quiet chuckle. “You know what? If somepony comes out here and sees the two of us, I’ll let him have a turn too. You’d be OK with that, wouldn’t you?”

Lightning Dust growled, glaring daggers into the stallion’s eyes. She knew she wasn’t in the best place to haggle, both because she didn’t want the cops to find out about her sleeping arrangement and because she really needed the bits. As tough as she tried to act on the exterior, she probably wouldn’t make it if she was forced to endure that snowstorm sleeping outside.

Finally, she inhaled a deep breath, placed a hoof to her chest, and slowly let it all out, calming herself down as much as she could. Then, looking up at the stallion before her, she said in a gentle tone, “Alright, Clay. We’ll do the usual.”

After that, she really didn’t remember much of what happened next. She always blocked out her bad experiences as much as she could, otherwise she’d never be able to sleep at night. When she was little, her mom taught her a trick that she ended up using all the time when she started training to become a Wonderbolt. It was a way to block out the pain, both mental and physical, and when it was over, it would feel like it never happened.

Close your eyes, the pegasus recounted to herself, trying to remember her mother’s words. Count to ten. If it’s not over by then, picture happy memories, then you do it all again. One, two, three, four--

“You made me clip my wing, you sent half of our class into serious tailspins on the obstacle course, you unleashed a tornado that nearly demolished my friends!”

Lightning Dust almost never got to ten by the time her mind was flooded with painful memories, thinking of every single mistake she’d ever made that led her to where she was.

“I think I broke my leg! Help! Somepony help!”

“This is all your fault! I hope you know that.”

Lightning Dust clenched her eyelids tighter.

Five, six, seven--

“Don’t give her any bits. She’ll probably just waste them.”

“Get a job, lady! We’ve got enough ponies like you already!”

Eight… nine…

“You reek! Why don’t you just go hide somewhere nopony will find you?”

“I’ll tell you what. I can give you some bits if you do me a favor.”

Ten!

Finally, after one last deep breath, it was all over, and even though she felt disgusted with herself, she could feel at least a small hint of pride knowing that she’d survived. It was just like when she was training for her stunts before the accident. Even though the experience was torture in the moment, once it was done, she could hold her head up high knowing that she came out a little bit stronger in the end. She was grateful to her mom for teaching her that little trick, but sadly, it never lasted for long, especially when Clay was involved.

“Wow, Dusty. You got lucky! Not a single pony showed up.”

“Shut up,” Lightning Dust said, wiping her mouth and looking the other way. “Just give me my bits and leave.”

“Bits? I don’t remember saying anything about any bits.”

Suddenly, Lightning Dust’s eyes went wide.

“What? Don’t kid around, Clay. We had a deal!”

The stallion looked down at Lightning Dust with a cocky smirk, shrugging his shoulders and shaking his head. “What were the details of this deal again? Oh, right. We didn’t specify any details! But hey, I’ll tell you what. Since I like you so much, I won’t let the cops know about that thing the two of us talked about earlier, and maybe I’ll be back later for round two? How does that sound?”

Lightning Dust’s jaw quivered. Her heart sank. There was no way she just went through all of that just for him not to compensate her in the end! A blizzard was coming… She was going to die if she didn’t get that money… No. No! There was no way he was getting off that easy!

“Listen here, you little punk!” Just as the stallion was getting ready to walk away, Lightning Dust pushed him back into the wall beside him, pressing her hoof to his neck as she seethed in anger. “I’ve had it with you treating me like trash! We had a deal, and now you’re going to pay up whether you want to or not! You hear me?!”

The stallion flinched in surprise at first, but gradually, Clay’s face returned back to normal, shaking his head with a low chuckle that only served to piss her off even more. “Ohhh, Dusty, Dusty, Dusty. I don’t think you realize who holds all the leverage here.”

“I told you pay me, you prick!”

Clay continued to smile for a little while longer, but eventually, his smile faded, leaving nothing but an emotionless husk that chilled Lightning Dust to the core. “You know, I’m not having fun anymore. If you still haven’t learned your place at this point, then maybe somepony just needs to teach you!”

Suddenly, the mare felt a wrenching pain in her gut out of nowhere, knocking all the wind out of her lungs as she fell to her knees. Lightning Dust wrapped her hooves around her stomach, trying her best to pull air back into her lungs, but before she succeeded, she felt another blow across her face, slamming directly into her right temple and knocking her to the ground. What was going on? It was all happening so fast.

By the time Lightning Dust could open her eyes from the massive agony that seemed to flood through her entire body, she saw Clay standing above her, falling to his knees just so that he could grab her by the mane and yank her upwards.

“I’m sorry, Clay! I didn’t mean to--Gaufhh!!”

Again, another blow to the gut, and it seemed like they just kept getting worse, like he was just getting warmed up for when he’d really hurt her. He wasn’t holding back in the slightest. If he kept up at the pace he was going, she was going to be lucky to make it out of there without any broken bones, and even that was supposing she didn’t pass out first. He was really going at it. Was she going to die here? She wasn’t ready for that. Not yet.

Lightning Dust squeezed her eyes shut, unable to even gag as he continued pounding her. After all those years of using the trick her mom taught her, it looked like she wasn’t going to be able to use it this time. What was even worse, though, was knowing that she was going to have to sacrifice her pride and do the one thing she swore she’d never do.

With all the strength she could muster, Lightning Dust opened her mouth and sucked in all the air her lungs would allow. “HELP! SOMEPONY HELP ME!”

“Shut up! Hey! I SAID SHUT UP!”

Now his hoof was smacking against her face, physically preventing her from screaming any further. She had already sacrificed too much of her pride already. There was no way she could let herself lose any more…

But she still wanted to cry.

The lights were starting to go dim, her head beginning to feel dizzy. Eventually, the pain stopped registering completely. She could still feel him hitting her, but for some reason, it was like they weren’t even doing anything anymore. They just made her feel… sleepy. Maybe that was what she really needed, to sleep it off and wake up once it was all over.

Before she knew it, her eyelids gradually began to close, but before she lost consciousness completely…

“Hey! What are you doing?! STOP!”

Immediately, Lightning Dust felt her body fall limp to the ground, quickly followed by the sound of hoofsteps running away. It was weird. Now that the pain had stopped, she thought that she would feel better, but somehow, she didn’t feel anything, like he was still standing there pounding her, just without actually being there to do it.

Yeah, maybe sleep would be a good idea after all. Then, once she woke up, it would all be over…

“Miss? Hey! Wake up! Miss!”

Chapter 2

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.”

Chapter 3

If somepony told her a year ago that this was what she’d be wearing right about now, she would have laughed in their face, but now that she was the one on the other side, she wasn’t laughing. The pegasus looked up and down at her reflection, trying her best not to cringe at the image, but it was all so… gold! And her mane was… Well, she’d never seen it look like that before. Now it made sense why she was the only mare in the Royal Guard. This outfit was definitely not designed to bring out her feminine appeal. Not that that ever mattered much before, but this was all just so…

“Looking sharp, rookie!”

Lightning Dust flinched at the sound, but the feeling of a surprise claw on her shoulder made her practically jump out of her armor. Turning her neck, she saw Gallus looking down at her with a cocky smirk, causing her to roll her eyes and look back at her reflection.

“Oh, don’t be a douche, Gall--I mean, Commander.”

Hearing her unnatural politeness only made the griffon smile wider, which subsequently only served to make Lightning Dust regret saying it in general. “Yeah, I remember my first time wearing one of these. Really ruffled my feathers at first, but you grow into ‘em. The chaffing, though, that never goes away.”

“Oh, goodie. And here I thought that was only temporary. Glad to know I’ll graduate from this place with battle wounds either way.” The two of them shared a long laugh before gradually calming down and looking into the mirror once again. “So, what’s on the agenda today, Sir?”

“Pretty much the same thing as every shift. We do our rounds circumventing the castle, maybe relieve somepony from their post for a minute, and if we’re lucky, the Princess will have us run an errand.”

Finally turning away to break her eyes from her reflection, the pegasus giggled quietly, marching towards the door to the castle corridors. “Fuuuun. Do we get to smile while we’re at it, or is that mostly just for the diplomats and the dignitaries?”

“Well,” Gallus began, opening the doors for the pegasus, “I suppose it’s not really a requirement not to smile as much as an unspoken rule between guards. Can you imagine if something like that got out of hand and we all started doing it?”

“Oh, I already have an idea. This place would be in shambles. I mean, smiling guards? Our enemies would never take us seriously.”

“Like they’d ever take somepony like you seriously to begin with.”

Then, before she could react, Gallus quickly pulled Lightning Dust’s helmet over her face, cackling loudly as the pegasus tried to put it back on without her mane getting tangled inside. Once it was back to where it belonged, however, she couldn’t keep herself from staring at his snarky smile, like he didn’t realize what he’d just gotten himself into.

“Oh, it’s war now!”

Lightning Dust then lunged towards her commander’s helmet, but he just flapped his wings and hovered further back into the corridor, making Lightning Dust jump into the air to keep up with him. She knew she probably had no chance against someone who had apparently spent two years in the Equestrian Military Academy, but it wasn’t like that was about to stop her. She wouldn’t stop until either she died or somepony important walked in who would make her feel embarrassed. Still, though, she’d take her chances with that one for the time being.

“Get over here, you!”

“C’mon, rookie! I know it’s your first day on the job and all, but is that really the best you’ve got?”

The two of them continued flying around pillars of the building, laughing loud enough to get them scolded if one of Gallus’s superiors walked in, but that didn’t matter right now. For the first time in months, she was actually smi--

“Lightning Dust?”

Then she came to an abrupt stop. She recognized that voice, and it made her heart practically sink into her stomach.

Turning her face slowly, she locked eyes with another pony in uniform, although the one this mare was wearing was much different than the one Lightning Dust wore. This mare’s uniform was much more form-fitting, made for somepony who would be spending a lot of time in the air, the uniform that Lightning Dust had spent her entire foalhood dreaming of… but the one she never got the chance to wear. At least, not for long.

“Rainbow Dash,” Lightning Dust replied with a gulp. She’d spent so many months practicing what she’d say to her rival when she saw her next, but she still hadn’t mentally recovered from her time on the streets. Even though she knew that she wasn’t a complete loser anymore, she still didn’t feel like she was particularly a winner yet either. Rainbow Dash was, though, no matter how you looked at it. “What… What are you doing here?”

“Who’s this?” another mare wearing the same uniform asked, walking up quickly behind Rainbow Dash.

“Oh, nopony important,” the cyan mare said with a scowl, making Lightning Dust’s heart hurt worse. “C’mon, Fleetfoot. Let’s get moving.”

“Hey!” All three pegasuses flinched. Before any one of them could react, however, Gallus descended between them, holding his chest up high while glaring down at Rainbow Dash. “She is a member of the Royal Guard, and I expect you to treat her with the same respect you would give any other guardsman.”

The rainbow-maned pegasus scoffed. “Her? Part of the Royal Guard?! I mean, I had my doubts about you guys when you let Zephyr Breeze join, but he was just lazy. She, on the other hoof,” Rainbow Dash pointed towards Lightning Dust, who flinched reflexively, “is the last pony I’d trust with Equestria’s safety! Or anypony’s for that matter!”

“THAT’S ENOUGH!”

“No.” Then, surprising both Gallus and Rainbow Dash, the teal pegasus stepped in between them, holding her hoof out in front of her commander while glaring at her rival. “Let her keep going. I want her to get everything off of her chest.”

Gallus raised an eyebrow at first before nodding his head. Rainbow Dash, however, blew a raspberry while waving her hoof. “Like I need to ‘get anything off my chest.’ You already know why I don’t trust you. You have no concern for anypony other than yourself! All you care about is showing off, even if it ends up hurting somepony!”

Throughout Rainbow Dash’s spiel, Lightning Dust never flinched, never winced, and never blinked. Instead, she stood tall, allowing Rainbow Dash to completely demean her character until it sounded like she had nothing left to say. Then, after a long pause, Lightning Dust finally opened her mouth.

“You finished?”

“...Yeah, I’m finished.”

“Good, because you know what I’ve learned over these past few months?”

Rainbow Dash shrugged. “I dunno. Should I care?”

“Yeah, because unlike you, I’ve always taken responsibility for my actions.”

The cyan mare’s jaw dropped to the floor before her teeth grit in a fiery scowl. “What’s that supposed to mean?!”

“The entire time you’ve known me, you’ve always seen me as a bad pony. Even when you first became my wingpony at the academy, you couldn’t just be happy for me. You went to Spitfire twice, the first time to tell her you wanted to be lead pony, and the second time to quit, using me as your scapegoat.”

“BECAUSE YOU STARTED A TORNADO!”

“No, Rainbow Dash. We started a tornado. When I asked you if you wanted to make one back at the academy, do you remember what your exact words were?” Rainbow Dash flinched, but never answered. “I’ll tell you what they were, because I’ve replayed that moment over and over again almost every day for months. You said, ‘I’m in,’ never once telling me that it was a bad idea. Do you think I knew that somepony would get hurt? Do you think I knew I wouldn’t have been able to control it? I was just happy that nopony ended up getting hurt, but that wasn’t good enough for you, was it?”

While Lightning Dust continued to tear into Rainbow Dash, Fleetfoot slowly stepped up to her fellow Wonderbolt, placing her hoof onto her shoulder. “Yo, Crash, is this true?”

Rainbow Dash’s eyes darted back and forth. “It’s more complicated than that…”

“Oh, really?” Lightning Dust said, trying to keep her emotions in check despite the fire in her chest or the water behind her eyelids. “It was more complicated than that?! How?! All I ever wanted was to be a Wonderbolt, to show the world that I was a somepony, but that’s never going to happen now. I’m not blaming you, but after everything that’s happened, I just…” Lightning Dust took a deep breath and looked her rival in the eye. “I just wish... you would have been a little nicer.”

Rainbow Dash continued to stare in silence, her jaw practically on the floor, but before she had the chance to respond, Gallus placed his claw onto Lightning Dust’s shoulder. “C’mon,” he said quietly, already turning the other way. “Let’s just go.”

Lightning Dust looked back and Gallus, then to Rainbow Dash again, whose mouth quivered silently. He was probably right to end the conversation there. They had rounds to get to, and that was probably all Lightning Dust wanted to say anyway. The moment the teal pegasus turned the other way, however, Rainbow Dash quickly raised her hoof and exclaimed, “Wait!” stopping Lightning Dust in her tracks. Once she faced Rainbow Dash again, though, the rainbow-maned pegasus turned her gaze back down to her hooves.

“Why?” Lightning asked with a suspicious eyebrow raised. “So you can tell me how I put another one of your friends in danger with my Washouts team? Don’t bother. I’ve already got my own regrets with that one.”

“No! I wanted to say… that I’m sorry.”

This time, both of Lightning Dust’s eyebrows rose. “Why? You didn’t do anything wrong. Technically.”

“Technically, yeah, but you’re right. I think that I’ve potentially… maybe… possibly… been blaming you so that I wouldn’t feel as bad.”

“As bad?”

Rainbow Dash smiled sheepishly. “Or, you know, bad in general. Look, I’m still upset at what happened both at the academy and when you tied three rockets onto Scootaloo’s scooter, but when I stop to think about it, you never actually did anything wrong. It’s not like you lied to Scootaloo, and I didn’t want to think that I had anything to do with that tornado that nearly tore up my friends.”

“You’ve gotta admit, they did have the worst timing there.”

“Tell me about it.” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes as the two of them shared a laugh together, the kind that Lightning Dust probably never thought she’d get to share with Rainbow Dash again. “So yeah. Do you think we could be friends again? Like when we first met?”

The teal mare smirked, tapping her hoof to her lower lip to pretend like she was thinking deeply. “Hmmmm… No.” Just as Rainbow’s jaw was about fall again, though, Lightning Dust held out her hoof with a smug grin. “We’re rivals for life, remember?”

Then, lifting her own hoof, Rainbow Dash mirrored her expression. “Wouldn’t have it any other way.” And finally, Rainbow Dash gave her the hoof bump she’d been waiting for since they were back at the academy.

“Hey, Crash, we gotta go.”

The moment their hooves touched the ground again, Fleetfoot quickly walked up to Rainbow Dash, tapping her on the shoulder. Lightning Dust couldn’t help but give her another snarky smirk. “Crash?”

Rainbow Dash rubbed the back of her neck bashfully. “It’s… kind of an inside thing.”

“Ah. Because you’re a Wonderbolt now.” Rainbow quickly opened her mouth to say something that would probably amount to another apology, but Lightning Dust cut her off before she could even start. “Hey, don’t worry about it. As you can see, I’ve got a pretty good gig going myself. Speaking of which, I should probably get back to that. I’ll… see you later?”

The cyan pegasus nodded. “Yeah. If I have time, that is.”

Lightning Dust wanted to retort with a snide comment of her own, but she knew that she had work to do. Turning towards her commander again, she steadily placed one hoof in front of the other and walked away with a smile on her face. She’d let Rainbow Dash win… but only this one time.

“Alright, boss. Where to now?”

“Probably to the throne room,” Gallus remarked. “I can already imagine that Princess Twilight’s dying to see how you look in your new uniform.”

Lightning Dust blushed. “Oh, really? You know, if I’m going to see the princess, it would probably be best if I took off my helmet. We’re not supposed to wear hats indoors anyway, right?”

Just as Lightning Dust was getting ready to pull her helmet off of her head, however, she could hear her boss cackling beside her. “Getting nervous already, rookie? Better get used to it. Twilight walks around this castle almost as much as we do, which means that it’s only a matter of time before she sees that helmet mane of yours.”

The pegasus groaned. “Yeah. I know. I guess it’s just--”

“Still a little weird?”

Lightning Dust raised an eyebrow. “Yeah. How did you know?”

“I’ve been there before! What, you think I didn’t start out getting nervous around Twilight too? Believe it or not, she was my friendship professor before this.”

Lightning Dust laughed into her hooves as the two of them turned a corner leading into another hallway. “You took lessons on friendship? Did they not teach you that where you’re from?”

“You have no idea. Growing up in Griffonstone… Let’s just say it wasn’t always easy.”

Gallus’s head sunk, which led Lightning Dust to tilt her head in curiosity. “Worse than living out on the streets?”

“Honestly, I can’t say one way or the other. Friendship is kind of a new concept to griffons. Before a couple years ago, we all just kinda… dealt with each other. None of us smiled or played or spent more time with other griffons than we had to.”

“How were the winters up there?”

“What do you think? We lived on a tree!”

Gallu’s reaction made Lightning Dust inadvertently break into a laughing fit in her hooves, cracking up initially before she had to cover her mouth to silence her laughter. She knew he was kind of a birdbrain, but she didn’t expect him to actually live in a nest! Obviously, based on the look on Gallus’s face, he didn’t find the situation as funny as she did, but she couldn’t help it. This was the first time she’d really felt laughter in a long time, and it was all just sort of coming out at once.

“W-whatever!” the griffon continued. “Anyway, the princess’s throne room is just beyond those doors up there. Let’s go check to see if the guards need anything first.”

Gallus pointed his claw to the large double doors just a few meters away, making the jitters that Lightning Dust had forgotten about just a few seconds ago come back all at once. She knew that she had nothing to worry about so long as Princess Twilight was involved, but after all the things she had done for her, how was Lightning Dust even supposed to thank her? She tried pushing it out of her mind, but of course, that only served to make the matter worse.

Thankfully, as Lightning Dust attempted to process everything she’d say once they entered into the room ahead, Gallus came to a halt in front of the two unicorn guards standing at the doorway. “Hey, guys. You both doing OK over here?”

“Unless a changeling got in without us knowing, yeah,” one of the guards replied with a loud guffaw. “Ahhh, changeling jokes. Those never get old. Anyway, who’s the new… girl?”

Lightning Dust gave him a scowl until she realized that she was the only female in the entire guard and probably the first one they’d ever had. It was probably a totally normal reaction for him to wonder whether or not she was actually a mare underneath all that armor.

Finally, lifting a hoof, she softened her face and said proudly, “The name’s Lightning Dust. Nice to meet you.”

“Weeeeell, it’s good to know that Gallus’s poor manners haven’t rubbed off on you just yet,” the stallion replied, shaking her hoof as the other stallion chuckled quietly.

“I’ll give it a week.”

“ANYWAY!” Gallus exclaimed, getting between them and giving Lightning Dust a glance before she started laughing too. “How are you two doing? Do either of you need anything before we go see the princess?”

“No, we’re good,” stallion two replied. “We’re more worried about your trainee. Hey, if he ever tries teaching you something weird, ignore him. You're his first apprentice, so he’s probably nervous out of his feathers right now.”

Again, Gallus got in the stallion’s face, giving him a stern glare as both he and Lightning Dust tried not to laugh. “Thanks, guys,” the griffon said sarcastically. “Be sure to let me know when you guys need me to relieve you. I’ll be sure to take my break around then.”

The stallions didn’t argue. Instead, with wide smiles on their faces, they each took one of the doors and pushed them open, allowing a pathway just barely wide enough for Gallus and Lightning Dust to fit. Once they entered the throne room, they still had a while to go before they’d be within earshot of the princess at the other end of the long hallway. As the two of them slowly walked along the red carpet beneath them, Lightning Dust continued to snicker.

“What?” Gallus asked defensively. “Don’t listen to those guys. They don’t know anything.”

“They sure know how to push your buttons.”

The griffon groaned as the mare beside him continued to cackle under her breath. “Those two are just jerks. They push everyone’s buttons.” Then, once Lightning Dust’s giggles began to die down, she noticed that the normal confident smile wasn’t returning to Gallus’s face. Suddenly, though, just as she was starting to tilt her head in concern, Gallus opened his beak, making the pegasus nearly jump into the air. “You don’t think… I’m doing a bad job so far, do you?”

“Weeeell, it has only been like twenty minutes since we officially started working together.”

“R-right! Yeah. Sorry, I forgot.”

Once Gallus closed his beak again, the same self-conscious frown from before appeared on his face. “Gallu--I mean, Commander?”

“It’s fine,” he replied with a chuckle. “What’s up, Lightning Dust?”

“You’re taking this whole boss thing really seriously, aren’t you?”

“What?! No! I mean, yeah, I’m taking it seriously, but not--”

“Well,” Lightning Dust said, cutting him off before she accidentally made him more nervous, “I don’t know if this means anything, but based on how you had my back with that whole Rainbow Dash thing back there, I’d say you’re doing a pretty good job so far.”

Finally, the frown disappeared, but right before he allowed a real, genuine smile on his face, his cheeks turned upwards into the cocky grin that he seemed much more accustomed to. “That was nothing. It was more like, uh… defending my little sister!”

“...You do know I’m older than you, right?”

As Lightning Dust waited for his response, however, the griffon stopped where he stood and removed his helmet, putting it to his chest as he bowed his head. Lightning Dust squinted her eyes at first, but once she realized what was going on, she finally decided to look in front of her, seeing the princess in her throne on top of a tall stairway. Immediately, the pegasus removed her helmet, trying to get her mane back to where it was before she put it on in the first place.

“Your Majesty,” Gallus spoke reverently.

“Hello, Gallus,” the alicorn responded, nodding at the griffon before her face lit up at the pegasus beside him. “Lightning Dust! I see you recovered! How’s the job treating you so far?”

“Meh,” she replied. “It’s a pretty good gig so far.”

Gallus quickly glared at Lightning Dust, but Twilight simply giggled like she expected. “I’m glad to hear it. And I assume your commander has been a good teacher so far?”

“Wow, you must think pretty highly of him.”

The griffon glared harder and the princess laughed louder. “I see. Well, if that’s the case, then you’d better keep a pretty good eye on him, and be sure to let me know if he gets into any trouble.”

“Huh?!” Both mares then broke out into a laughing fit as Gallus stood there with his beak open, switching glances between the two of them while he tried to understand what was going on. Then, clearing his throat, Gallus continued. “A-anyway, Your Majesty, we were just here to see if you had any specific assignments for us.”

“Hmm,” the princess hummed, tapping her hoof to her bottom lip. “I think I had one idea, but I’m not so sure the two of you can handle it by yourselves.”

“Can’t handle it?! I mean--I’m sure we’d be able to help you in whatever way you need, Your Highness.”

Once Gallus recomposed himself, the princess looked the two of them over, making Lightning Dust gulp as she pondered over all the possible tasks a princess could want from her. Lightning Dust had spent her whole life challenging herself, but that mindset broke after the accident with Short Fuse that put her on the streets in the first place. Sure, she’d be able to take on new challenges eventually, but on her first day?

“I would like the two of you…” the princess began, making both Lightning Dust and Gallus tense up together. “...to go into town and get me some bagels.”

The two of them waited silently for the punchline, for Twilight to say that she was just kidding and that they’d have to take care of a manticore that got loose somehow. No matter how long they waited, however, Twilight’s wide smile never faltered. Finally, once they realized that this was literally the errand that she was asking them to run, Gallus lifted an unamused eyebrow and quietly said, “You’re being totally serious, aren’t you?”

“Uh-huh! You see, I was planning on getting Spike to do it for me, but he’s got his claws full as Friendship Ambassador. You know how it is.”

“...Riiiight. And the reason you can’t do it yourself is…?”

“I uh…” Twilight quickly looked around her throne, apparently searching for something despite her area being pretty much empty. “I can’t because I need to… find my quill! I can never remember where I put that thing.”

Gallus breathed out a heavy sigh, putting his claw to his face as he shook his head. “OK. Whatever you say, Your Highness. Did you want us to get you a quill while we’re out?”

“No thanks! I have plenty.”

Gallus blinked unamusedly at the princess’s wide smile before turning around with an eye roll that hopefully Twilight wouldn’t be able to see. “Whatever. Come on, rookie. Let’s go get the princess some bagels.”

Lightning Dust followed, although she didn’t say anything the entire time the two of them walked out of her chambers. Sure, she had plenty of things worth saying, but she had a pretty good idea that Gallus probably had lots of things that he wanted to say too, just not in front of the princess.

Once the two of them walked back into the hallway and heard the large double doors close behind them, Gallus let out a loud breath of frustration, hanging his head low as he put his helmet back on. “Dang it, Twilight! I know you’re up to something.”

“Like what?” Lightning Dust replied with a cocky smile.

“I have no idea! She just does these things sometimes! It drives me nuts!”

Lightning Dust snickered. “You know, the two of us going into town like this, it almost feels like the princess set us up on a date, don’t you think?”

Suddenly, Gallus froze in place, waiting a few seconds in shock before shaking his head violently. “No way! This is totally different. The two of us are just following the princess’s orders and getting her some bagels. There’s nothing more to it than that.”

“That’s it, huh?”

“Yes! That’s it! That’s the problem with you girls. You overthink things too much.”

The griffon's comment made Lightning Dust smile deviously. She then floated into the air and flew backwards as if she were lying down with her hooves as her pillow, giving Gallus a smug expression that he tried to ignore.

“Or,” she began, “maybe you’re just too much of a featherhead to pick up on our hints.”

“What hints? What are you talking about?”

“If this isn’t a date, then how about the two of us have a real one this weekend? Donut Joe’s. Saturday after work. Your treat.”

Gallus gawked, but once he saw Lightning Dust’s sly grin grow wider, he turned his face away, trying to hide the redness in his cheeks. “Hang on. If I say yes… then will you stop acting like what we’re doing right now is a date?”

“No, this is a date too.”

The griffon groaned loudly, making the pegasus chuckle to herself as she put her hooves back down to the ground. “Fine!” he said in annoyance. “We can go on a date! Whatever! Let’s just get these bagels and get back to work. Celestia knows I could use a break right about now.”

Lightning Dust wanted to cheer, to pump her hooves in victory just at the accomplishment of convincing her stoic commander to go so far out of his comfort zone. She knew when not to push it, though. It took her a long time to get to this point, where she actually felt like she was doing something grown up, and unfortunately, that feeling didn’t even last long.

In fact, once Gallus had angrily walked a few steps ahead of her, Lightning Dust let out a silent cheer before placing her helmet back on and returning to her errand. She had a long day ahead of her, after all, and this was only the beginning.