“I can’t believe you dragged me along to this, Shining,” Beacon huffed, still smoothing out the skirt of her dress. Whoever had made it was most certainly a talented seamstress, but she detested dresses. Too snug, especially on the hind legs.

Before her and Shining was the hottest event of the year—if you were a snobby Canterlot noble looking for brownie points with your peers and the princess, anyway. To Beacon Fire, the Grand Galloping Gala was a colossal waste of time.

Shining Armor chuckled, looking smartly dressed in a suit that Beacon would’ve traded her dress for in a heartbeat. “Believe me, that’s how I felt about it the first time I was invited too, Bea. But I found it was important experience to have, especially operating in Canterlot.”

Beacon snorted. “And if I don’t want to marry a princess?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

Shining gave a laugh. “Alright, fair enough. But these are who we protect, Bea. The citizens of Canterlot… at least some of them, anyway. It’d be good to get to know them.”

“Who’s ‘we,’ Prince Charming?” Beacon asked with a smirk. “You’ve got a kingdom to help rule, remember?”

“Maybe so, but I was a captain of the guard once too.” Shining set a hoof on her shoulder. “I need to go find Cadance, you go have fun, alright?”

“As much fun as I could possibly have,” Beacon said with a sigh.

Shining gave her a parting pat before disappearing into the throng of ponies. Beacon stood by the entrance, rubbing one foreleg with her forehoof as she looked around for something to do.

There was the dance floor, but not only did she not feel like dancing in the confinements of her dress, the music wasn’t to her liking. She couldn’t slow dance without a partner, and she’d rather not do it with a stranger, no matter what Shining’s advice was.

Turning to her right, she could see a line of ponies that led into the adjourning hall to the ballroom of the castle. Beacon shook her head firmly—she was well-acquainted with Princess Celestia as she was, considering the princess was essentially her boss. She saw no need in waiting in line for potential hours just to say hello when she could say hello to her tomorrow.

Deciding it was better to look around for herself than stay in one place, Beacon made her way into the crowd.

Beacon made her way to the balcony adjacent to the ballroom, glad to have the cool night air as opposed to the stuffy, noisy air inside. To her surprise, she found she wasn’t alone on the balcony.

Another mare was there—a unicorn with a dark green coat and pine green mane and tail. She was dressed in a black dress and, surprisingly, a black Reiner-creased cowboy hat. She was too busy looking out over the Canterlot skyline to notice Beacon until she was next to her.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to disturb you,” Beacon said. “Not your kind of party either?”

“Not particularly,” the mare said with a country drawl. “My ma and pa dragged me and my brother here. Ma’s the one singin’ in there.”

“Your mother is Siren Song? She’s very talented,” Beacon said, nodding appreciatively.

“Thank ya,” the mare replied. “Name’s Ghost Pepper, most folks call me Pepper.”

“Captain Beacon Fire of the Royal Guard, but seeing as I’m off duty, Beacon’s fine,” Beacon said with a sigh as she turned to look out over the skyline.

“So if yer off duty, why are you at a fancy party like this?” Pepper asked.

“I deeply suspect my old friend Shining is trying to matchmake me,” Beacon said with a small smile. “Now that he’s married to the Princess of Love herself, I can only be doubly sure.”

Pepper chuckled. “Ma’s the same way. She’s kinda hopin’ I meet a noble or somethin’, like how she and pa met. Can’t really force somethin’ like that.”

“Yeah, unfortunately,” Beacon said, glancing at her. “So, what exactly is it that you do?”

“Farmer out in Paxton Junction, whole family is. Grow cactus peppers and raise cows, stuff like that,” Pepper said with a shrug.

“Paxton Junction, that’s a ways away,” Beacon said. “Can’t say I’ve ever left Canterlot. Kinda hard to with the job I have.”

“Get some paid time off,” Pepper replied. “I’m sure even the guard has that. Lot of Equestria to see.”

Beacon opened her mouth to speak, but her rumbling stomach answered instead. She gave a sheepish smile.

“Want to carry on this conversation at the buffet table?” Beacon asked.

“Sure, beats anything else at this party,” Pepper said with a chuckle.

The two made their way inside, chatting about their lives, and happy to finally have something to do.

Author's Note

Beacon Fire: Female, Unicorn

About: The Fire of Hope, the Flaming Shield, Wielder of Ignis. Beacon is a noble soul who does her best to try and help others. Much like Link and the Master Sword are fated to meet, so too does she find herself with Ignis very often. Beacon's knight-like moral compass stems from her love of reading fantasy as a filly, especially the works of Token

Appearances: "The Fire of Hope," Ponyville Noire: Frost and Fire, Shadows Over Equestria: Ignis Reignited (upcoming), A Kirin's Quest (upcoming)

Ghost Pepper: Female, Unicorn

About: Ghost Pepper lives out in the desert on a farm with her family outside of the sleepy town of Paxton Junction. Pepper's talent is mainly the fact that she can handle spicy heat as well as a kirin can, though she's pretty good with a slingshot. She's also been seen with a ghostly dagger with supernatural powers...

Appearances: "The Good, the Bad, and the Shy" (cameo)