MLP:FIM: Crystal Curse

Chapters

Prologue
A Very Wet Morning
Do Artists Dream In Paint?
A Special Edict
Duty Never Ends

Prologue

In a time long ago, there was kingdom known as Equestria: A land where every pony knew each other and had no problems with that, war was almost unknown to the point that peace had reigned there for centuries (well with the exception of a couple of threats (I wont name any names)) and all the creatures in the land were polite and helpful at all times (and not just to earn the satisfaction and gratitude of others). The kingdom was ruled by two monarchs.... princesses to be exact: Celestia and Luna and they were (in all honesty) decent rulers of the realm. Each princess had duties to perform: Celestia raised the sun across the sky during the day while Luna raised the moon when the day was good and over.

However, Luna (being the concerned co-ruler of the realm) looked upon her duty with great sorrow as during the day, every pony was awake and going about their normal routines with great content and happiness while during the night they finished what they did and slept for the rest of the night. And so with defiance greater than anything any pony has every seen she refused to raise the moon no longer, reasoning that there was no excuse whatsoever not to stay up during what should be a joyous moment that every pony can enjoy.

Princess Celestia was concerned for the welfare for all residents of her kingdom and had her sister banished from the realm, imprisoning her on the moon in exile and made sure she would not escape until Luna had calmed herself and returned to her benevolent ways. However, all this did was make Luna resent her sister and all the inhabitants in Equestria thus warping her mind and creating Nightmare Moon: a vile, unremorseful sorceress who knew only resentment. Now as a former shadow of herself she plotted in silence, seething with rage and abiding her time until the opportunity to invade fair Equestria had revealed itself to her.

At last, when the timing was just right she appeared before the bewildered audience of ponyville (who had eagerly awaited Princess Celestia to arrive for the summer sun celebration and raise the sun as she had always done many a year before) and announcing everlasting darkness upon the land. Attempts made by the royal guard and the villagers were futile and it was not until six ponies, each from different backgrounds, had banded together to find the fabled elements of harmony: six legendary trinkets that had the power to defeat even the most chaotic of foes. Fearing her defeat would come as quick as her arrival had, Nightmare Moon planned to hinder the six ponies at every twist and turn, trying to throw them from the path that had been set for them.

However, no matter how many times she tried to deter them only made them realize just how lucky they were to have each other and, as they reached the ancient castle of the royal pony sisters they managed to reawaken the sleeping powers of the elements. and defeat the mad sorceress utterly, returning Luna to her natural state. Forgiven by her sister and celebrated once more as the benevolent co-ruler of Equestria, she returned to her duties as the bringer and ruler of night. The six ponies who helped bring the reign of the mad sorceress to an abrupt and 'permanent' end went down in history as the Mane Six and there came upon the land peace and harmony (and of course more of Pinkie Pie's parties to follow). The tranquility was said to have lasted for a year until, as quickly as her defeat had come, the Mare of the Moon returned

A Very Wet Morning

A year had passed since Nightmare Moon had been defeated and peace was brought back to the serene lands of Equestria. However, with a year passed and the next one fast approaching, it would be understandable for there to be a mad rush to prepare for the new year. Down in the village, the residents were making preparations for celebrations to be held in the honor of their benevolent rulers: Celestia and Luna. Meanwhile, up in Canterlot, there was an even madder rush to prepare for a separate celebration to be held by the residents there. It was a magnificent, sunny day without a cloud to be seen (thanks to the pegasi of cloudsdale), the sun shone on the land with a tenacious ferocity making sure its rays were felt by everypony and everything around and the sky glowed a magnificent light blue color.

As the sun shone, the guard-ponies busied themselves with every task that has been lain before them to make sure the celebrations were near perfect, neither Luna's honor guard nor Celestia's talked to one another as they were too busy to take notice of them and they all got on with their main duties... all except one. Down in Canterlot's town center lain a guard-pony who was still asleep amidst the chaotic hustle and bustle of the others guard-ponies. This one in particular continued to sleep despite the amount of noise and chatter around him and did not stir even as the noise grew louder. The sun shone down on his jet black skin and warmed it as he tossed and turned on the floor close to the town square fountain.

As he slept, another guard-pony named Opal Beam had appeared next to him and tried to stir the content guard-pony from his sleep. "Captain, captain Duskshy, wake up sleepy head its time to prepare for the celebrations" breathed Opal as he nudged his friend. Dusk still did not stir from his sleep and just simply turned away leaving Opal flustered at his ignorance "Oh my various ponies... WAKE UP!!". Duskshy jumped and woke up. He turned to face Opal and blinked once... before promptly falling back to sleep. "Oh for Celestia's sake" asserted the now angered white pearl Pegasus. Turning to leave his friend to sleep he noticed the fountain full to the brim with crystal clear water and that had given him an idea.

"You there" pointed Opal to one of the guard-ponies sweeping the alleyways of the town. One of them had perked his head up to see Opal and responded by saluting with his hand to the side of his head. "Yes captain, what can I do for you" inquired the now still guard-pony. "At ease soldier, now listen, can you do me a small favor?" replied Captain Opal. "I would like you to do some heavy lifting for me uh with my help of course" continued Opal. The guard-pony turned to see Duskshy who was still sleeping despite encouragement from Opal, turned back to Opal and nodded gently.

The two of them walked up to where Dusk was sleeping so contently and held him up over their heads and even then he did not stir. "Alright soldier, on the count of three, we are going to throw our sleeping beauty into the fountain" whispered Opal. The guard-pony with him raised his eyes in shock. "But captain..." began the now deeply disturbed guard-pony. "One..." began Opal. At one both guard-ponies started to swing Dusk's body towards the fountain. "Maybe there is another way" continued the other guard-pony "Two..." by two the swinging was getting faster and harder pushing Dusk's body towards the coolness of the fountain's water.

"THREE!!" shouted Opal as they both let go of the poor captain's body into the fountain "But we still have the inspection this morning!!" bellowed the guard-pony who was now in a state of shock of what he just did. "Oh, I forgot about that" laughed Opal as Dusk fell into the fountain. Water rushed down the captain's body as he was consumed by the rush of water. His reaction was instantaneous as he leaped out of the fountain and landed head first on the floor of the street. He was now shivering from the cold water that is now all over him and turned to face Opal who was laughing hysterically at his misfortune and the guard-pony who was now in tears and visibly shaking.

"Don't do that again!!" barked Duskshy in the loudest voice he could which was only a small whisper. Opal could not hear him over the hardness of his laughter as he tried to pick and compose himself. By then all the other guard-ponies in the streets along with the residents had burst into laughter as well. Dusk looked all around and bowed his head in embarrassment, his cheeks had shone a rosy pink and his dark blue tail was between his legs as he tried to cope with all the laughter. Opal turned to look at the other ponies in the town "Alright everyone, back to work, nothing to see here" commanded Opal and turned back round to his friend who was still shaking in water.

"Now then, its about time you woke up, you do realize what day it is don't you? questioned Opal. Dusk sat on his hindquarters and stroked his chin with one hoof in thought. He realized what day it was and stood back, his eyes widening as he spoke "Happy New Year" replied Dusk to Opal. "Let's see, from the looks of it, we are getting ready for celebrations tonight and... oh we have an inspection don't we?" wondered Dusk. "That's right" answered Captain Opal and promptly turned to walk nonchalantly away from Dusk "If I were you, I'd hurry because it won't be long before we do have to go for our inspection so hurry up" mused Opal and he promptly hurried back to the castle to get ready.

Dusk walked over to the guard-pony who had helped his friend throw him in the fountain and noticed he was still crying hysterically at the thought of such a barbaric act he performed. "Please don't punish me, I was just following orders, oh please, oh please, oh please, oh please, I swear, I didn't mean it" cried the despairing guard-pony. Dusk looked at him, smiled gently and put one hoof on the guard-pony's shoulder "There, there" started Duskshy "That was very brave and uh kind of you to wake me up on such a glorious day and especially since we have an inspection this morning" continued Dusk. The guard-pony stopped crying and looked up at the Captain in disbelief "h,huh?" he asked softly.

Dusk turned to leave the guard-pony when he had remembered something else. "Oh, and uh in the future if I am asleep and do not want to be disturbed unless its something really important..." he began, by then he was only a couple of seconds away before turning back to the bewildered guard-pony and putting his face close to the other's "You don't throw me in a fountain full of cold water or anything else stupid!!" Dusk screamed, his voice grew unusually loud even for him his face had grown darker and his eyes were set alight in a cartoonish fashion. Tears welled in the unfortunate guard-pony's eyes again and he started to cry even louder than before prompting other ponies to stare in fear.

Dusk turned away from him and walked off through the town leaving the entire town center in a state of silence while the other guard-pony continued to cry leaving others to console him.

Do Artists Dream In Paint?

Every year, the guard-ponies of Canterlot assemble within the main hall of the palace to be inspected by the princesses and Shining Armor: The commander in chief of the royal guard. They are divided into two groups: those that follow Celestia and the others that protect Luna. Understandably, there are more guards under Luna's "command" than before due to last year's events. Underneath the princesses and the commander in chief in the chain of command are two captains, one for each group. There was Duskshy: Captain of Luna's royal guard and the other, Opal Beam: Leading captain of Celestia's guards. Each is assigned to make sure that the will of their leaders have been carried out with near perfection.

Underneath those two are the guardponies themselves, the ones who carry out their duties without hesitation and of course there are the recruits: ponies, unicorns and pegasi who have yet to prove themselves in royal duties and unto themselves and they are placed in a seperate group at the royal inspection led by a young corporal named Cloud Rain. Not only does the young pegasi lead the recruits, he also helps clear the skies of clouds or otherwise and on this occasion... he was late.

Duskshy continued through the streets of Canterlot Town while trying to avoid the numerous guard and work-ponies as they tried to fix up the town for the upcoming celebrations. As he ducked and weaved throughout the whole mess, he apologized whenever he almost came close to ruining a guard-ponies' hard work. "Captain, watch where you are going will you?" Implored one of them as Dusk narrowly avoided knocking him off the ladder he was on to try and fix one of the signs that had become unhinged. "Sorry, can't stop now, I need to be at the castle for an inspection" Replied Dusk as he carried on running. "I-Inspection?" breathed the guard pony before falling off the ladder anyway in exasperation.

As he continued ducking and diving through the preparations he was not watching where he was going and bumped into a work pony while he was carrying a crate full of pottery and knocked him over. As they both fell to the ground, the crate landed on Dusk's head dropping all the pottery and smashing them around them. The work-pony was flustered over the loss of the pottery and his face had become a bright red with rage. "Why don't you watch where you are going you klutz!!" Yelled the fuming work-pony. "My apologies sir, I was only just..." Dusk began. The work-pony was still ranting and did not hear Dusk's apology. "Thanks to you, my workload is shattered, it will take a massive amount of funds to get more of these, they are very valuable!!" continued the work-pony.

"But I just apologized for..." continued Dusk as he backed off a couple of steps. "Well, that's coming out of your paycheck from the royals you royal mess-up". Duskshy, now getting annoyed, lashed out at the work-pony who had ignored his attempts at apologizing numerous times "Look, I said I was sorry okay, can't you listen for once" he replied. "Sorry, SORRY?!" replied the work-pony, now even more enraged than ever. "Listen here buddy, sorry just won't cut it, you are paying for these and that is final!!" continued the work-pony. By then every pony around the two had gathered to listen to the argument between the two until finally a tall figure wearing a rainbow colored cloak stepped out of the crowd to address the two of them.

"What is going on here?" Inquired the figure as she looked at Duskshy and the flustered work-pony. The cloak the figure wore was quite long, long enough to cover most of her body including most of her face barring the eyes and unicorn horn. Both the work-pony and Dusk turned to look at the cloaked figure. "Oh my various ponies, what do you want Life Like?" sighed the slightly annoyed work-pony. "Is that how you treat all guests?" responded the cloaked unicorn now known as Life Like "Or maybe perhaps you misheard me, yes?". The work-pony widened his eyes and turned down his attitude with quick succession. "Um, well you see, this little klutz has just destroyed valuable pottery that I was supposed to carry up to the castle and he thinks he can just apologize for it"

"Is that so, well he has apologized has he not, perhaps that should warrant some calm between the two of you?" Inquired Life Like. "Uh, well now that you mention it..." Began the now slightly embarrassed work-pony. Life Like walked towards him while continuing to interrogate him, causing the work-pony to step back a fair bit, his cheeks now a bright rosy pink and his tail under his hindquarters. "And if I am not mistaken, it seems you weren't watching where you were going either" continued Life Like. The work-pony was now very embarrassed by his actions. "Uh, oh alright, I admit it and... I am sorry, but still, what about the pottery I need to replace, they cost a fortune" Inquired the work-pony.

Life Like rolled her eyes at the work-pony and used her magic to conjure up a paintbrush, pallet and artist's board and picked them up with her unicorn horn which was glowing a gentle yellow color. Duskshy looked puzzled at the mysterious unicorn's answer to the work-pony but decided not to say anything and looked on in admiration. Putting the paintbrush to the canvas, she painted an exact replica of the pottery that now lay shattered on the floor and then put her paintbrush away. Without a second glance she dropped her canvas onto the floor and focused her magic on the painting which was now glowing with all colors of the rainbow.

Before their eyes, the painting dropped off the canvas and took physical form. In front of them was an exact physical replica of the broken pottery. Life Like picked up the pottery and handed them to the workpony who picked them up without delay. With satisfaction, the workpony nodded to Life Like. "Thank you so much, you've saved my hindquarters" breathed the workpony who was now content with the new collection of pottery and moved away from the two ponies. All the others who had gathered round clapped their hooves in amazement at the mysterious unicorn's talents.

Life Like moved towards Duskshy who was still overcome with amazement that he had just witnessed magic that was nearly impossible to any ordinary unicorn. "Are you alright darling" asked Life Like to the stunned guardpony. Dusk shook his head and snapped out of his trance. "Uh, yes i'm fine Miss Life Like" Responded Dusk. Life Like giggled at the young pony and rolled her eyes. "Please, call me Life Like" she responded. "Come with me, lets get you cleaned up" commanded Life Like. Dusk stood up, nodded and followed her towards a small house on one of the streets and followed her in. The entire home was full of portraits and pictures created by Life Like.

The interior was decorated in bright rainbow colors and the floor was too, strewn across the floor were various painting materials and canvases. Dusk looked around in awe at the stunning visuals within the house and found a seat around the large table situated in the center. Life Like continued into the next room to look for grooming supplies for her esteemed guest. "You like this place don't you, this is my art studio and also my living quarters during my stay here in Equestria" mused Life Like to the captain. "I like what you have done with the place" responded Duskshy still looking around with grace.

"Ah here we go" continued Life Like as she came back into the room with her grooming kit. Using her magic, she lifted up an automatic blow-dryer and switched it on. She then put it over Duskshy and started to dry the captain's still wet skin. "It seems you already know who I am now, yes" Inquired Life Like as she continued to dry him off. "I am lady Life Like, I come from a kingdom further away from Equestria, I am the official painter for the royal family there" she continued. "Another kingdom, well what are you doing here then?" Inquired the bewildered captain as he was being dried. Life Like sighed and looked out of her window while letting her magic hold the blow-dryer.

"Everyday i'm asked by the royals of the other kingdom to create more and more portraits of themselves, its good practice but I long for something new, something to test my natural talent and that is why I came here to Cantalot and to Equestria itself, the change of scenery here is perfect and it allows me to try something new" She explained. Life Like turned off the blow-dryer and put it back into her grooming kit and produced a small comb for Dusk's mane. Using her magic, she also produced another canvas from the room, picked up one of the paintbrushes lying across the floor and started to paint another picture.

"I must say, this kingdom has not disappointed me thus far, the raw beauty of this place and its inhabitants have given me plenty to go off on" continued Life Like as she continued to comb Dusk's hair and paint at the same time. As dusk looked around, he noticed an empty portrait in the middle of one of the portrait covered walls, surrounded by bright, beautiful pictures of landscape and other ponies. Underneath the picture was a plaque with the words: Spirit of Love written across it. "Spirit of Love, what's that?" asked Duskshy to Life Like. Life Like looked at the portrait and smiled behind her cloak."

"The spirit of love is the supposed spirit that brings many warm feelings unto the world, not just Equestria but everywhere. According to folklore, the spirit of love is the reason we have love in the world, it would arrive with other spirits, carrying with it equipment used for painting. It would create paintings featuring two ponies who were destined to become soul mates for life and put a heart between the two drawings, thus creating in the ponies in question a bond that can only be broken by the spirit itself if it so wishes leading to the immortalized saying: I bring love unto this world, for I have awoken, but for some however, their hearts will forever be broken"

Duskshy listened in wonder to the serenity in Life Like's voice oblivious to the comb that was going through his mane listening intently to a fascinating story. "That is a wonderful story" Breathed Dusk. "You're probably wondering why the portrait is without a painting, the reason being that the spirit of love is a mysterious being and no pony know what it looks like".

Life Like put down the comb and put it back in her grooming kit. Looking at the now clean and tidied captain, she smiled gently at him and put down her paintbrush. "Looking beautiful there, you'll have no problem with today" mused Life Like to Dusk.

"As I was saying, because of this folklore, it is why I have taken up painting as my natural talent so that one day I may meet this elusive spirit and be satisfied". Life Like put her canvas to one side and looked at Dusk with enthusiasm. "Now then, you have somewhere to be, don't you?" Inquired Life Like. "Yes, I have the inspection this morning, i'm not quite looking forward to it, i'm always nervous on these occasions" confided Dusk. Life Like smiled again and patted Dusk on his helmet covered head. "I'm sure you will be fine sweety, now run along and join your fellow guardponies... oh, I almost forgot, take this with you" continued Life Like as she produced yet another canvas and started to paint on that one.

She drew a vase full of flowers and showed it to her guest and without hesitation, she focused the magic on the painting giving the painting physical form. She then gave one of the flowers to the captain who gladly accepted it and bowed his head in grace. "Thank you very much" mused Dusk and walked out of the house. Life Like turned to her other portrait resting against the table and grabbed it with her magic, hanging it up on the wall closest to her and smiled. The painting had two ponies on either side of the canvas. "Ah, Princess Cadence and Shining Armor: A match made in heaven, best of luck to the pair of you" giggled Life Like as she left the picture to dry.

A Special Edict

When the monarchy was formed, the kingdom was still in its early stages. Upon frozen lands, bickering was constant between the three pony groups as they fought over who would lay claim to the vast expanse of lands we know to this very day. There were the land ponies: the most common throughout the realm and perhaps the most hardworking of all three, the pegasi: ponies with the natural ability to fly majestically through the skies as they searched high and low for their true calling and of course there was the unicorns: the most diplomatic of ponies yet even they could not resist the temptation of boasting about how the land was rightfully theirs.

After an encounter with the spirits of hatred, all three groups decided to live alongside one another in a balance of harmony and the kingdom of Equestria was formed. This became the basis for the celebration of Hearth Warming. However, there were some who did not support such a decision. Deep in the frozen north, there was an empire known as the Crystal Empire which was ruled by a vicious, unrelenting tyrant of a king by the name of King Sombra. This arrogant pitiless unicorn despised the others for their peaceful ways and so he wasted no time in trying to take control of this new kingdom.

Elsewhere, while not a threat until they invaded Canterlot during the wedding of Princess Cadance and Shining Armor, the changelings led by their deviant queen: Chrysalis silently plotted their own takeover of the great realm and all those within. However, none of these fearsome foes could overcome the will of those who lived in Equestria and they were promptly defeated, King Sombra by the two rulers Celestia and Luna and Chrysalis by the combined efforts of the rulers, Cadance and Shining Armor and of course, the Mane Six.

Chrysalis and her army were sent flying into parts unknown while the Crystal Empire, as a consequence of King Sombra's defeat, promptly vanished leaving behind only ruins of its former self. However, all was not lost for the fallen lands. Rumors abound of others who escaped the fate of the empire by seeking asylum within the dark, dank depths of the EverFree forest, never to be heard from again... well, assuming the Empire does not re-appear unexpectedly.

Duskshy made his way to the castle gates, flanked by two of Celestia's royal guard. The two of them nodded to the captain as he walked through the gates, nodding back to them with a smile. As he left, the two guards wondered what a flower was doing resting in the captain's armor. "A flower, I wonder where he got that from?" Pondered one of them. "Beats me" Replied the other "Best guess is that he's brought it for you know who during the inspection this morning" he continued, and with that, the two had started to laugh hysterically until they realized what they just said. "Argh, the inspection!" cried the two in unison as they ran after the captain.

Around the castle, guard ponies and work ponies who had gained access to the castle for preparation were busy finishing final touches for the new year. as Dusk approached the throne room, he was greeted by the warm smiles of his fellow guard ponies under his command. "Captain Duskshy, you made it at last!" they cheered in unison. Dusk looked up at the smiles of his brothers in arms and smiled gently back. "Thank you gentle colts" replied Duskshy, "I hope i'm not late...". "of course not" Replied one of the guard ponies. "In fact you're actually quite early". Duskshy breathed a silent sigh of relief at the thought of actually being early.

As the clock struck eleven o'clock, the guardponies from all over Canterlot assembled within the main hall in each of the two groups alongside the recruits who had formed their own group as they would've had the corporal been there. Among the guards who had entered was Opal Beam. Opal walked alongside his group of Celestia's Guards and stood in front of them in his place as leader. Opal turned his head to see DuskShy at the front of his own group and nodded towards him. Dusk turned to see Opal nodding at him and nodded back, signifying that this was the time to move into the throne room.

"Squad, Squad..Shun!" cried both captains and the three groups quickly stood up, raising their heads up high proudly and assuredly. Both captains nodded to each other again and began another command.

"By the center, in column of route, quick MARCH!" they commanded in unison and without hesitation, the three groups marched behind their commanders with the recruit group following behind the two others as they followed them into the throne room. As they walked into the throne room, the captains turned left and right respectively of each other, allowing the recruits to squeeze into the gap that had been made when the others moved into the flanks of the room.

As marched, many guard ponies looked up to gaze at the finished throne room and noticed how well it had been decorated. The walls were lined with banners draped over them, each one beheld the face of either Princess Celestia or Luna proving just how benevolent the two really were. The roof had banners hanging from them as well, each one holding a different image of the different victories the kingdom had over its enemies and the floor was covered in carpets from corner to corner. On one side of the carpet had the insignia of Celestia's cutie mark while the other side had Luna's.

All three groups halted in front of the steps leading to the throne and re-formed themselves in accordance to which side had which cutie mark. In front of them, the two princesses sat atop the stairs discussing their own plans for the evening. All three groups stood there quietly as they did so, waiting for one more captain to appear. No sooner as they had finished forming ranks and rows did the doors of the throne room swing open and the commander in-chief appeared: Captain Shining Armor. Armor walked into the throne room and marched himself to the front of the squads and the back of the stairs and faced the princess who by that time had finished their discussion.

"Parade, to the front, SALUTE!!" Barked Shining Armor as Celestria and Luna approached them. All three groups put their right hooves to the front of their foreheads except for Captain Duskshy who had placed his at his right temple. After three seconds had passed, the three groups finished their salute and stood back to attention. Celestria and Luna looked at each other in pride of their subjects before them before looking back at the squads and nodding at Shining Armor who nodded back and marched to the back of the throne room while the princesses began their inspection. As Princess Luna passed her squad of guard ponies, she smiled towards Duskshy and he smiled back.

"Hello Captain, How are you today?" asked Luna to Dusk as he removed his smile. "I am fine, your majesty... as always" replied Dusk. "That is good to hear Captain, however I feel like you try too hard to be a good role model, relax a bit, you'll feel better I assure you" Luna continued. Dusk nodded in reply. "Thank you, your majesty but my role here is to make sure that all safe within these walls, I cannot compromise my job here". Luna giggled at his response and smiled even greatly. "Oh Captain, always looking out for my safety but you must promise me that you will go easy this year... pretty please?" She pleaded gently.

"Well... oh alright, just for you your majesty" Dusk promised and nodded to her in agreement. "Thank you Captain, now if you don't mi... oh, what is this?" Luna asked pointing her hoof at the flower nestled in Duskshy's armor. Dusk looked down at his flower and smiled. "This, your majesty? why uh I brought it for you, I hope you don't mind" he replied. "Oh captain it's just lovely, thank you" Luna mused as she took the flower from him and placed it in her mane. The princess, without warning, kissed DuskShy on the cheek and he bowed his head in embarrassment blushing all the while. "Now as I was saying, I'll just continue with the inspection" said Luna.

The inspection had lasted an hour before the princesses had finished with the squads and they walked back to the throne nodding to Shining Armor who nodded back to them, signifying that the inspection had ended. Shining Armor walked back to the front of the squads and nodded to the captains who nodded back to him and they in turn turned to their squads and the recruits and nodded to them and they of course nodded back. "Parade, officer on parade, DISMISS!!" barked Shining Armour and the two captains in perfect unison as they had practiced.

And with that all the guardponies in the room saluted and left in an orderly fashion. Soon the throne room became almost empty save for the two princesses and Shining Armor. The main hall however became packed with all the guardponies and the recruits and they all discussed with perfect silence the plans for tonight's celebration. Duskshy left his group and went to find Opal who had just left his group. Both immediately found each other and hugged each other in pride. "We did it, we survived yet another inspection, how cool is that!" laughed Opal to Dusk. "I know, I thought I would never survive in there, if only it weren't for the..." Dusk began "The flower, yeah I saw that too... nice going lover colt" replied Opal.

Dusk widened his eyes at the joke and began to laugh as well. It was no secret that Duskshy had a crush on the princess he was supposed to protect and he knew that everypony in Canterlot knew. The two captains turned to leave the main hall when the doors of the throne room swung open once again and Shining Armor appeared and motioned for the two captains to follow him back into the throne room when he spotted them. Both captains nodded to each other and followed him in. Both princesses awaited patiently in the middle of the throne room for the two captains as they walked in. Both captains bowed in front of them and saluted as they held their heads back up.

"I have brought them as you have ordered" acknowledged Shining Armor. Both princesses nodded gently and motioned for him to leave them. Shining Armor nodded back and without another word, he left the throne room. The captains were alone with the princesses and they stood there waiting for the princesses to speak. "Now as you know, the new year brings about change in many of us" began Celestia. "As for Canterlot, we expect for there to be a lot happening over the next couple of weeks or so" continued Luna. "And as such we expect greater deeds from the pair of you".

Both captains looked at each other and nodded in agreement. "However, due to your continued acts of loyalty, we have decided that in order to relieve the stress of the new year, we are giving you a holiday" Celestia announced to them. Almost immediately, both captains widened their eyes at the revelation and they could not hold back a smile any longer. Both captains immediately started to jump for joy at the news that they were finally getting a week off to take a well earned rest.

"For your holiday..." began Luna as soon as the captains had calmed down. "We are sending you to ponyville for a week to make new friends and to generally enjoy yourselves" she continued "However..." Began Celestia.

"We would very much like to ask you a big favor, we would like you to visit a student of mine... the only student of mine: Twilight Sparkle and check that she is doing her studies, can we trust you to do this for me?" implored Celestia. Both captains looked at each other again and nodded calmly in agreement. "Perfect, we would like you to prepare for travel for this afternoon, you can leave as soon as you're ready" continued Luna. Both captains nodded yet again and promptly without a word as well, they left the throne room. Both princesses breathed a sigh of relief as the captains left the room and began to discuss their next course of action.

"Are you sure this is the right thing to do my sister, they are barely ready for this sort of test" mused Luna to her sister. Celestia nodded in agreement but had shaken her head at the same time. "I know little one but they must learn that fate has this in mind, this will surely decide the fate of all of Equestria and perhaps... those of a different kingdom" replied Celestia. Luna's eyes widened as she realized just what she was suggesting. "But big sister, you don't mean...?" Luna began. Celestia nodded twice. "I'm afraid so, we must abide our time until they have completed their task... our new heroes of the realm...".

Duty Never Ends

Both captains exited the throne room into the main hall. The hall was tightly packed with the guardponies from the inspection that it was extremely hard to maneuver through it all. Duskshy and Opal Beam looked at each other with delight at the very thought of moving somewhere new and exciting in the hope of spending their vacation in quiet comfort while all the other guardponies busied themselves with preparing for the new year, allowing themselves time to celebrate at the end of it all. The two captains carefully tiptoed across the room so as not to disturb the others from their duties while they made their way to their bedrooms to pack up their essentials for the week ahead.

"I just can't believe it" whispered Opal to Dusk in childish glee. "Us two, getting a week off for our own pursuits" he continued. Dusk nodded in silent agreement at the very notion, he could not hold his excitement in as much as his friend could and bounced up and down quietly. "Off to ponyville eh? I cannot wait" replied Dusk as he continued his bouncing spree. Opal nodded to Dusk and the two carried on walking/bouncing their way out of the main hall. All throughout the castle was full of guardponies and worker ponies as they continued to make headway through the preparations. Each one was assigned a task to make sure that they were not slacking off in the middle of their duties.

Exiting the main hall, both captains made their way to the main gates when they were both stopped by five anxious guardponies who were flustered and red in the face. "Sir, its terrible, just terrible" began one as he jumped up and down in a panicked state. "Please captain, you must absolutely help us with this" continued another. Opal and Dusk looked at each other in a calm manner and nodded towards the group of nervous guardponies. "Fine, lead us to the problem but please hurry" replied Opal to them and they led both of them towards Canterlot Town. Once they reached the town square, the five guardponies pointed the captains towards the main problem: A statue of the princesses had fallen over into the fountain and another group of guardponies were desperately tugging at the statue trying to get it out and stand it upright.

Opal rolled his eyes at the group for failing at such a simple task. "You're meaning to tell me that I am missing valuable vacation time for something such as this?" Inquired Opal. All the guardponies nodded towards him in response and Opal rolled his eyes again. "Fine, first thing to do is actually get in the fountain and push it out and hopefully that will stand it upright, alright?" He asked. The group looked at each other and shook their heads in unison and disagreement. "But what if we get wet?" asked one of them "Yeah, we have the celebrations tonight and we want to look our best for it, why don't you do it since you're going on vacation today?" asked another.

"Fine, Ill get in the fountain and push it myself for you lazy ponies. Will you stop pestering me then?" Proposed Opal through clenched teeth and the other guards nodded in unison again. Opal sighed heavily and jumped into the fountain, DuskShy watching as he did so. Pressing his back against the top half of the statue, he asserted pressure onto it and caused it to move out of the fountain water gushing from it onto him at the same time. The statue landed on its base as was predicted and the other guardponies cheered at the success of the pegasus captain. Opal jumped out of the fountain and sighed quietly to Dusk who kept silent throughout the ordeal.

"Alright you crybabies, is that enough to keep you satisfied" Jeered Opal at the guardponies. "Yes sir, thank you sir" They replied in unison and they left the captains to continue their conversation "That should be that, now let's get out of here before..." Opal began before being interrupted by Dusk. "Uh, what about our luggage?" Dusk inquired. Opal shrugged at the suggestion and was about to say something when another guardpony attracted his attention. Opal, now irritated and completely wet rolled his eyes and turned back to Dusk. "Tell you what, go back to the castle and get our belongings sorted, I'll stay here and deal with any problems the workers here are having" he proposed.

Dusk nodded to Opal, turned back and ran off in the direction of the castle to collect their luggage while Opal walked to the struggling guardpony near one of the houses. He gave the pony a light tap on the shoulder to which he swung round to face him. "What's the problem?" Inquired Opal. "I'm trying to put this sign up on this house but I can't reach the roof, ugh, this would be easy if I was a pegasus" replied the guard as he tried to jump up to roof level of the house. Opal examined the guard closer and noticed he had a pair of wings like any other Pegasus guard and rolled his eyes again. "What If I were to tell you that you are a Pegasus and you can reach that roof no problem" he inquired.

"Well I just told you, I'm not a Pegasus so I don't have..." The Pegasus's voice trailed off when he looked to the side of him and noticed he indeed was a Pegasus. Opal, now almost fuming, put one hoof in front of his face as he tried to contain himself from berating the young Pegasus for negligence. "All... happy... now, just lift yourself up to the roof with the sign and get back to work" Opal said calmly and the guard-pony continued with his work. Opal sighed quietly and continued through the streets when he spotted a group of Luna's bodyguards trying to move an obscenely large statue on their backs through a narrow street.

Opal approached the group and the leader stepped forward to speak to him grinning to him all the while. "Captain Opal, what a nice surprise, what can I do for the most loyal of Celestia's subjects, haven't you got something else to do like, say sticking your nose high up in the clouds for instance" sneered the leader as he approached him. "Hello Sergeant, might I ask why you, the most competent of Luna's Royal Guard, are trying to move a statue as large as this through a small street that has very little chance of getting through, hmm?" Opal retaliated. The sneer on the sergeants face instantly dropped as he tried to think of what to say to him.

"Alright then captain, if you're so sure of that, why don't you help us get it through safely then?" he proposed to Opal. Opal rolled his eyes and nodded while trying to force a smile. "Of course, ill just take the middle of this statue and we'll get it through in no time" Opal said before sliding himself underneath the statue at the middle along with the other guards. The sergeant giggled alongside the others of Luna's guards and carried on walking with them with the captain in tow. As they reached the end of the street they stopped before the opening.

"Alright, on the count of three we turn this on its side and we try and make sure there is nothing is sticking out at the side" Opal instructed as they waited patiently. The guards nodded and proceeded to flip the statue on its side as instructed until there was nothing blocking the way for it. They then slowly edged the statue through the opening as they walked slowly. Once it was out, the group stopped at the destination with captain underneath. The sergeant gave a sly smile as he did the unthinkable. "Alright everypony, we're here, you can let go of the statue now" The guards on either side shifted out the sides leaving the captain still stuck in the middle.

Without anything to support the sides, the statue became heavier for Opal before it became unbearable and it placed great strain on his back. "Wait a minute, you forgot about m--!" he managed to utter in before his back gave way and the statue fell on top of him, squashing him. Luna's guards looked at each other before laughing hysterically at the captain's unfortunate "accident". The sergeant, a unicorn, used his magic to lift the statue up and flipped it back on its base while laughing himself. "Whoops, terribly sorry captain, I forgot I had this" he hollered, referring to his unicorn horn. Opal picked himself and shook himself to rid himself of his confusion.

The group continued their laughter as they walked off leaving the poor captain to compose himself. Now absolutely enraged, Opal picked himself up and started to rant. "You jerks, you wont be laughing when I make you clean the castle with toothbrushes!!" he barked even though the group was now out of hearing range. "How does Duskshy put up with this kind of attitude, they're his responsibility to train them, this stinks" Opal thought to himself and promptly left the statue and continued back to the town square. Opal waited by the fountain waiting for Duskshy when he appeared carrying twenty suitcases on his back full of items for the vacation. "Opal, can we get moving now, my back is starting to ache" Dusk implored.

Opal rolled his eyes and sighed gently before greeting Dusk with a forced smile. "Uh, maybe we should catch the train instead, I don't think we can carry this much on a chariot" he mused to Dusk and made his way to the train station. Duskshy, exasperated that he now has to walk all the way to the train station, followed his friend, carrying the suitcases with him.