Guardsmare Twilight

They arrived in Ponyville a few minutes later. Twilight had started to read through her assignments during the short train ride. The group started laughing again when she discovered that her command HQ was inside the library. The upper floor of the tree house, a house literally made inside a tree, was empty and offered enough space for a small office and living arrangements for her and Spike. The lower part would still remain a public library, which Twilight wasn't too bothered by. Spike had offered to run it, something she had to think about for now. He had helped her during her studies in Canterlot, cleaning up her mess and finding books; she was sure he could do it. But he was still a baby dragon, and forcing him to do anything he didn't want to was unfair.

The other thing she read about was her first order. She was to supervise the preparations for the upcoming Summer Sun Celebration. She had no idea why it was scheduled in Ponyville, but orders were orders, and she was determined to fulfil her duties. It wasn't that strange to think the Princess wanted to use her newfound freedom of bickering nobles to include the smaller towns in this wonderful celebration. She had already made changes to laws that she had tried to change for decades, drastically reducing the nobility's influence and power even further. No pony was stupid enough to object after what happened. The Princess ruled Equestria for thousands of years; she knew what she was doing after all. A change that surprised Twilight, however, was the proposal to change the Nightmare Night Celebration. This met far more resistance. In the end, Celestia had to relent.

Stepping out of the train brought an incredible sight. Twilight was used to the massive station in Canterlot, where the masses of ponies went about their business and paid no attention to anypony around them. Here, however, it was quiet and peaceful. She smiled when ponies stopped to wave at the arriving guards. None of them looked down on her, and no pony talked behind her back. These ponies were genuinely happy to see her, leaving Twilight in a state of disbelief at the warm welcome.

The first pony that was different was a pink pony with an even pinker cotton candy-like mane. "Hi, I'm Corporal Twilight Sparkle," she greeted cheerfully, only to be met by a loud gasp and a pony-shaped dust cloud. Well, that was different." That was only met by snickering from the ponies behind her.

Turning around, she addressed her guards. "Why don't you take your week of vacation? I can set everything up myself; see you for the celebration, okay." Getting a nod and a "thank you," the group dispersed, all of them happy to return to their families. Spear had offered to help, but Twilight told him to make sure his new house was set up; the transfer here came with his own place to live as no barracks were present he could otherwise use for the time being. "Okay, Spike, what's first on our checklist?"

Rolling out the short scroll, he read it out loud. "Number one, banquet preparations, Sweet Apple Acres." Giving him a quick nuzzle, they went on their way. Twilight had to take a quick look at her map to find the place, but it was only a short walk from the train station.

She felt strange doing all these errands; she was a guard and not an event planner, but orders were orders, and a bit of good public relations never hurt anypony. The first thing she heard when stepping on the farm was a loud "Yee haa" coming from up the road. An orange earth pony with a braided yellow mane and three red apples for a cutie mark reared up and kicked one of the trees. Apples came falling down, raining all around her into the baskets placed below. Twilight had to admit, this was pretty impressive. Walking up to the mare, she introduced herself. " Hi, I'm Corporal Twilight Sparkle, and I was sent to supervise the preparations for the Celebrations."

"Well, howdy, Miss Twilight. We here at Sweet Apple Acres sure love to make new friends. I'm Applejack. What can I help you with." Holding out her hoof, Twilight obliged, shaking the farm mare's hoof, something she instantly regretted as Applejack nearly crushed her leg.

Twilight immediately filed her away as potentially dangerous or helpful; she hadn't decided yet. A smile lit up her face when the word friend registered. She could be friends with a pony dedicated to her work. Filing that away for later as well, she answered, "I'm here to make sure the catering is all taken care of and get to know the local ponies. I will be the new guard commander for the Everfree area."

Applejack's eyes went wide after hearing that. Before Twilight could react, she was crushed by two strong legs hugging her tightly. "That's mighty fine of you. You won't believe how grateful we are to know that somepony is finally lookin' out for us, little ponies. I lost Ma and Pa to those awful timberwolves years ago, and nothin' was done." Again, she crushed Twilight. "Care to sample some of the food."

Twilight was happy to oblige, she had enough time for this little stop. The gratitude she saw in Applejack's eyes made her decision to write the report all those months back worth everything she had to endure.

In the end, Twilight ate far too much, but seeing those happy eyes when Applejack announced who she was was indescribable. Most of the ponies present came from other small towns; this was a family reunion of sorts, and all of them were equally happy to see that the guard was finally taking action. It made Twilight glad to be accepted this fast, and Applejack even commented on her being already part of the family.

"Food's all taken care of; next up is weather." Spike read from his list as they made their way back into town. Looking up into the sky, he questioned, "Mh, there's supposed to be a Pegasus named Rainbow Dash clearing the clouds."

Checking the sky for the pony in question, she was about to comment on the lazy attitude that pony must have had if the sky was still not clear, but before she could, a blue arrow streaking towards her grabbed her attention. Before it could hit her, she braced herself and caught the speeding pegasus, spinning her around to bleed off momentum before pressing her to the ground. Taking a look at the pegasus, she noticed the rainbow-coloured mane. "Let me guess, you're Rainbow Dash."

Springing back to her hoofs and shaking the mud out of her coat, she pressed a hoof to her chest. "The one and only. Why, you heard of me?"

"I'm Corporal Twilight Sparkle. I'm here to check on the weather." She was getting annoyed with the pegasus already. This lazy attitude was something she hated in others.

Lounging on a cloud, she dismissed her. "Yeah, yeah, that'll be a snap. I'll do it in a jiffy, just as soon as I'm done practising."

Now, that was something Twilight could get behind. "Practising for what," she said with a knowing smile. The enthusiastic "The Wonderbolts" escaping the pegasus' lips was all the conformation she needed. Twilight knew the aerial team would be here for the celebration, and the polychromatic pegasus in front of her looked like a pretty big fan. "Pff, please, I've seen recruits capable of clearing the sky faster than this. They would never accept a Pegasus who can't even keep the sky clear for one measly day," Twilight said in the most overdramatic voice she could muster.

"Hey, I can clear the sky in ten seconds flat." Without warning, she shot off into the sky, Twilight silently counting the seconds and watching in awe. Rainbow Dash might be lazy, but she had the skill to back up her boasting. Coming to a landing, she puffed out her chest. "What I say, ten seconds flat. I never leave Ponyville hanging. You should see the look on your face. I can't wait to hang out some more." With that, she shot off, leaving Twilight and Spike with stunned expressions. Again, she noticed the willingness to be a friend and put that away for later as well; there was still work to do.

The next task was decoration, something Twilight was not looking forward to. Entering town hall, she could already see the pony in charge, the Canterlot influence all to clear. She had to school her features. After all, this pony was living in Ponyville, she couldn't be that bad. "Excuse me, are you in charge of decoration."

"Yes, yes, darling, just a moment," she returned, a slight Canterlot accent in her voice, making Twilight's hair stand on edge. Now, what can I do for you?" Looking over Twilight's form, she eyed the uniform for a moment. "A guard in our little town. I would so love to design some fetching new uniforms for you."

"Thank you, but we've got that covered." Twilight forced a smile. "I can see you have everything under control. We will be out of your mane right away."

A gasp escaped the white unicorn's lips. "Oh my stars, are you the new guard for our town I heard about?" Twilight was preparing for the stream of insults about how much taxpayer bits would be wasted. What she didn't expect was for the unicorn to embrace her in a hug. "Oh, you won't believe how happy this makes me. I'm always worried about my little sister when she and her friends play outside, but now. You come by anytime you need anything, a new dress, a pony to watch your little brother," she smiled at Spike, "anything darling, simply ask. Now I have to return to work; the decorations must be perfect for the celebration." With a curt nod, she returned to her work. Twilight was stunned; this was a reaction she did not see coming.

Returning to her duties, she had to check on the music; a Pegasus named Fluttershy was supposed to be in charge of that. Twilight could already hear the birds singing in the distance and slowly approached. Watching them perform a beautiful song brought another smile to her face. She listened for a while, waiting for the other pony to see her. She didn't want to scare away her animals, and the pony seemed to be on the shy side herself. Fluttershy jumped slightly when she noticed Twilight watching her, followed by a very quiet "Hi."

Twilight smiled at her, a reassuring and comforting smile she was taught to use in situations like that; guards could be intimidating to some. "Hi, my name is Twilight Sparkle," she softly spoke. "Who are you."

Prepared for the quiet replay, she listened intently and carefully. "Hi, my name is Fluttershy." It was almost too quiet, but Twilight managed to make it out. She was about to excuse herself and let the pony continue to work when she gasped. "A baby dragon." Fluttershy was at Twilight's side faster than she thought possible.

"That's Spike. I hatched him during my magic exam. Say hi, Spike." He waved a claw at the shy mare, whose smile only got brighter.

"Oh, I have so many questions. I've never seen a baby dragon before."

A barrage of questions hit Twilight, too many to answer at once. Spike tried to answer as many as he could, but it was too much for him as well. An idea formed in Twilight's mind, she had a lot to do still and could use somepony to foalsit Spike for a bit. "You seem to be very good with animals." She got an eager nod from the yellow mare. "How about I leave Spike with you? I have a lot of boring things to do, and as long as somepony has an eye on him, he can stay. Do you want to stay, Spike?" She would not leave him here if he didn't want to, but he seemed happy to answer Flutershy's questions. "Just be home before sundown, okay." After getting another nod, she made her way into town; she had to sort out a few things with the mayor. Spike's and Fluttershy's chatter could be heard in the distance as she moved along.

Preparations dragged on, and Twilight was relieved that she could finally relax for a couple of hours before the celebration. Spike was probably back at the library, ensuring everything was in order for her return. She cared deeply for her little assistant, who would soon be her son again. As Twilight approached, she noticed the lights were off, and the interior was eerily quiet, which felt unusual. Her instincts as a guard kicked in, and she approached cautiously. Just as Twilight was about to knock, the rest of her guard arrived, all wearing similarly concerned expressions.

"What are you all doing here?" She asked, confused.

"We all got calls that there was some sort of emergency at the library," Wind Sheer answered. The others nodded in confirmation.

Now, with alarm bells ringing, Twilight approached the tree house. The door creaked open; it was no surprise it wasn't locked; it was a public library, after all. Slowly stepping inside, she halted. Her guards were right behind her, keeping watch on the surroundings. Suddenly, the lights turned on, and a loud shout of "Surprise" rang in her ears, leaving her absolutely bewildered but also pleasantly surprised when she noticed the party decorations.

The pink pony from the train station was all up in her face. "Hi, I'm Pinky Pie, and I threw this party just for you." She gestured to all of the guards. "You see, I saw you when you first got here, and I never saw you before, so you must all be new here because I know everypony, and I mean everypony in Ponyville. If you're new here, that meant you mustn't have met anyone yet, and if you haven't met anyone yet, you mustn't have any friends here, so I invited everypony, and now you have lots and lots of friends."

Looking around, Twilight finally saw the other four ponies she had already met. All of them gave her smiles; even Spike, sitting on Fluttershys back, waved at her. "That's nice of you to welcome us like this." She couldn't hide her own smile; the friendliness of all the ponies around her was too much for her stoic facade. By the look of it, the entire town was here. She introduced the rest of the guard, and they enjoyed the party. It would be a few more hours before the celebration, and ponies usually spent the time before with parties like this. Twilight couldn't complain, and with all her duties complete, she was happy to join in. Princess Celestia would arrive with her own escort, who would be responsible for security, and Twilight could enjoy the celebration with the rest of the town.