Her Majesty's Royal Guard

The royal library was quiet, save for the occasional sound of a page turning. Silvery moonlight filtered through a tall glass window, revealing the figure of a lone earth pony sitting at an oaken desk. She shivered from the chill; Luna had made tonight particularly cold, and she had neglected to bring a coat or scarf with her.

Aurora glanced at a nearby clock and gasped. "1 o'clock already? Shoot, I promised myself I'd sleep by twelve tonight," she pouted, puffing her cheeks. She had a bad habit of staying up 'til the wee hours of the morning poring over various books and scrolls, enjoying her status as the Royal Librarian to the fullest. Letting loose a yawn, she stretched her limbs and stood up to shake the fatigue from her bones when she heard the sound of a door quietly opening.

While she was generally not an easily scared pony, Aurora felt her blood run cold after hearing such a sound in the middle of a dark and quiet library when nopony else should have been awake. "H-hello? Is anypony there?" When no response was forthcoming, she gulped. Her mind wandered to the thought of ghost ponies, and she shook her head violently to purge the idea from her thoughts. "S-silly me. There's n-no such thing as g-ghost ponies, right?" she said nervously to herself, her eyes darting left and right to try and discern anything out of the ordinary in the darkness of night. At this exact moment, a hoof appeared from the shadows and tapped her shoulder.

"Ahh!" cried Aurora, nearly jumping 10 feet in the air. She opened her mouth to scream when another hoof clamped over it with an iron hoof.

"May I ask what you're doing here at this time of night, miss?" a voice said suspiciously, but with a tone of calmness that eased Aurora's tension.

Feeling the hoof remove itself from her mouth, Aurora turned to face a gray pony in the armor of the Guard. It's gold hues glinted in the dim light of the moon, complementing the pony's deep violet eyes that shone out in the darkness. This caused Aurora to sigh in relief. "Oh, it's only a guard. You scared me!"

The guard's face, shrouded in darkness, remained impassive, continuing to stare at the hapless librarian. "Miss, I'll have to ask you to leave. The library is closed at this time of night."

"Huh? But I'm the royal librarian. I have unrestricted access to the library, regardless of time and moment," Aurora said in confusion. She was sure that by now everypony in the Guard had grown accustomed to her nocturnal habits.

A flicker of doubt ran across the pony's face in an instant, so quickly that if Aurora had blinked she might have missed it. "My apologies. I've just been added to the night post since graduating from the Guard academy training program."

"Ah, I see," said Aurora, the confusion melting away from her face. Raising a hoof to stifle a yawn, she smiled sleepily at the guard. "I was just about to leave anyways, so no worries. Good luck! I hear the night post is rough for newcomer guards."

The guard revealed the slightest hesitation before nodding his assent, escorting her out of the library. "Be careful, miss. Never know who's roaming these halls of ours in the darkness of night." Saying this, he promptly turned and disappeared down the hallway, allowing the shadows to swallow him whole. Soon Aurora could only hear the echoes of his hooves against the marble floor as they faded into the distance.

Attempting to stifle another yawn, she turned and walked in the opposite direction when alarm bells began to ring in the distance, growing louder by the second. Squinting into the night as if that could determine what was happening, she nearly yelped in fright. A regiment of guards emerged from the darkness and barreled towards her, their hooves thundering down the hallway in their haste. "Halt in the name of the Guard!" yelled out a voice in an authoritative tone.

The lead pony, a guard wearing the blue stripes of a 2nd Lieutenant, trotted up to her while signaling his contingent to a stop. "Miss Aurora! I hadn't realized it was you in the dark there! Are you unhurt?"

"Hurt? Why would I be hurt, 2nd Lt. Falcon?" asked Aurora, giving him a perplexed stare. "What's going on?"

"There's an imposter on the loose. One of our night patrols found a guardspony knocked unconscious and hidden in a bush, with his armor stripped off!" said Falcon, his eyes ablaze in anger. "We think the intruder is posing as one of us."

Aurora's eyes widened as she remembered her encounter with the strange guard pony in the library. "Actually, I just met with another guard who had entered the library. He seemed awkward as if he didn't know what he was doing, but he said he was newly graduated from the academy; apparently he'd just joined the night post?"

The lieutenant froze, tightening his facial muscles. "There haven't been any new recruits from the academy added since last week," he growled, tensing his body in preparation to run. "Which way did he go?"

Seeing Aurora point a hoof down the hall, Falcon returned to his regiment. "After him! He's headed towards the Starswirl the Bearded wing!" he barked, forcing his men into a hasty gallop.

As they ran off, Aurora paled at the realization that had been come across. Oh Celestia, the Starswirl the Bearded Wing! Without thinking further, she ran off after the guards as her mind focused only on protecting the propriety of thousands of priceless scrolls.

Earlier that night

Midnight. Orion easily slipped past the drowsy guard on duty as he made his way into the train loading dock. Hooves echoing off the maze of boxes and other packages to be shipped, he finally came across a tan earth pony wearing a black beanie and woolen sweater.

"Whatcha think you're doing here, pal?" the pony said lazily, keeping one eye on the newcomer as he smoked from a long Zefrican cigar.

"Skippy sent me. I have a job for you," said Orion curtly. He would have preferred to hire the pony earlier if only the barkeep hadn't been insistent on going at midnight. Being this close to the morning made him feel doubtful of whether or not he could do what he had set out to do tonight.

"Not until I see some hard dough in front of me; I work on a policy of 'cash up front', pretty boy."

Orion stifled the rising urge to strangle the pony in front of him with his bare hooves. Tonight's job was too important to him to succumb to his petty anger. Shrugging of his saddlebags, he gently set them onto the floor and gave them a hard push, eliciting the tell-tale clink of bits as they slid. "2,000 bits. Up front."

Unclasping one of the bags, the pony's eyes glittered at the sight of the money. "The name's Smokey. What's your game?"

"I heard from Skippy that you had ways of getting a pony into the palace. I'm here to hire your services towards that regard."

Flashing him a devious grin, Smokey got to his hooves and shouldered the bags. "That I can. Follow me, pal." The two of them traveled deeper into the maze through many a twist and a turn until they emerged at a clearing facing the warehouse wall - a dead end.

Orion was instantly suspicious, turning to face the pony next to him. "What's the meaning of this, Smokey?" he growled, slowly advancing on the friend turned enemy.

"Watch it, pal. I've got friends." At some unseen signal, dozens of ponies emerged from the darkness holding a variety of weapons. "Best keep quiet if you don't want us to spill your guts."

Backing up until he felt his flank hit the wall behind him, Orion eyed up the numerous enemies against him. There were well over forty ponies that he could count, each one staring at him with unwonted bloodlust. "So, who sold me out?"

"Yer the one that did the sellin'," said a muscled earth pony as he emerged into the clearing. He stared angrily at Orion from under his brown chupalla, the lower half of his face clothed by a tattered red bandanna.

Orion's eyes narrowed as he saw the individual. "Boulder Smash. I should have known scum like you would show up around here, in the middle of a shady warehouse in Canterlot."

Boulder Smash let out a guttural chuckle. "Look who's callin' who scum. Did ya really fergit what ya did to me back in Manehattan? Now I'll finally have my change at revenge!" he whooped, giving Orion a bloodthirsty glare that matched those of his goons. "Now, hooves up in the air. Ah know yer tricks inside out, and yer a sneaky bastard ta boot."

Serving Boulder Smash his most baleful stare, Orion raised his hooves slowly, taking care to surreptitiously slip a capsule from his leather gauntlet into his hoof. "How'd you find me?" he asked as neutrally as possible, his voice growing monotone as he slipped into a state of calm alertness. Come on, you dirty rogue. Give me one chance and I'll blast you to Luna's moon.

Boulder merely shook his head, staring at Orion in disgust. "After all these years, Ah finally git to serve you yer reckoning. You made a mistake when ya went to one o' MY contacts fer information."

Orion's eyes widened at this statement before hardening again. "Skippy. By Celestia's teats, how far does your hoof reach?"

"Far enough to kill you, thank Luna," he said, making a gesture to one of the ponies near the back. The goon walked forward carrying a proto-type single shot rifle between his hooves. Boulder Smash picked it up almost reverently before displaying it to Orion. "Like it? Ah spent a tiny fortune of bits to git mah hooves on one o' these things. Seems Equestria's startin' to move away from bows and spears to an age of firearms and bullets, but yer going to git a sneak peak tonight," he said, giving Orion a nasty grin. Cocking the rifle, Boulder firmly held the stock against his shoulder as he aimed his sights at Orion's skull. At a range of ten feet, the shot would be as deadly as if it were at point blank. "Any last words before yer blood paints the floor?"

"Yeah. Burn in Tartarus, Boulder," Orion snarled, violently throwing the capsule at Boulder's hooves. A resounding boom shook the walls of the warehouse as ponies flew left and right from the resulting explosion. When the guard on duty rushed in to look for the cause of the commotion, he was greeted by a strange scene: a gaggle of unconscious ponies were strewn all across the clearing, some of them having boxes collapsed over them. A trail of blood seemed to lead towards a gap made in the wall, causing his eyes to widen in alert. As he knelt down the examine one of the bodies, he felt a sharp sensation pierce his gut as Boulder viciously thrust a knife into his body. Boulder's face was bloodied and he held one of his legs close to his body as if it were broken, fuming at the trail of blood that lead outside. "Damn you, Orion. Ah'll kill ya when Ah git the chance," he swore as the guard pawed the air, feeling his vision grow fainter as his blood pooled around him. I don't want to die were the last words the guard thought to himself as his heart stopped beating.

Orion quickly limped away from the warehouse, blood dripping down his face from a various amount of cuts. "Got caught off guard, by Tartarus," he muttered as he cradled his left hoof against his chest. The blast had thankfully steered him clear from the bandits, but one of his leg bones had cracked on impact with a nearby storage box, the box then raining him with splinters that caused the cuts on his face. After nearly buckling under the weight of his retrieved saddlebags, he flew into the leaves of a nearby tree to nurse his wounds. "Damn experimental explosives. Guess Sparky did say something about them being dangerous if used in close range."

Grimacing, Orion rummaged into his duster and pulled out a small pill. It glowed invitingly in the semi-darkness of the tree foliage before he popped it into his mouth, allowing a warm sensation of bliss to overcome his body.

Spark Blast, lead scientist at the Manehattan facilities of Appleture Science Laboratories, had pioneered both the explosive capsules and something that would change the medical field forever once released to the general public: medipills.

Each medipill came charged to the brim with healing unicorn magic, allowing for any pony that suffered from non-fatal injuries to make a complete recovery and ready to fight or flight. They also held a full cocktail of vitamins and minerals ensure the general welfare of the user and provide a small boost to their immune system.

Unfortunately, these miracle pills came with a side effect. Since current technology in Equestria didn't allow for a lot of magic to be stored into them, the pills also released a compound that drew out the user's life energy to supplement the healing magic. Depending on how grave the injury, a pony's life span could be reduced by anywhere between a minute and a couple months.

Orion's life had been shortened by five years prior to this point.

He shivered as the warmth slowly seeped out of his body, indicating that the pill had done it's work. Feeling his face to make sure the cuts had closed up, he experimentally placed some weight on his limb. "Thank Celestia for these pills, and for Spark Blast too," he sighed in relief. Now that he was fulled healed, Orion had to come to terms with another problem that was becoming increasingly relevant. Meeting Boulder had definitely thrown a wrench into his plans, and now he was unsure if he should proceed - with or without a guide.

Why did he have to show up now, of all times?he thought, allowing himself to groan inwardly. Infiltrating the castle by tonight was critical, since his face would be known upon entering the Guard. He couldn't afford to risk breaking in after becoming employed.

Forced between excessive risk and never achieving his goal, Orion braced his emotions as his eyes blazed to life with determination. Focusing on the far off lights of Canterlot Castle, he spread his wings in preparation for a short flight...

Orion forced his emotions into check as he ran towards the Starswirl the Bearded wing, cringing at every clang his newly acquired armor made in the process. While it had been surprisingly easy to knock out the guard, infiltrating the palace  had been nerve-wracking - especially since he lacked the benefit of having somepony who knew the layout. There was also the fact that his wings were pressed tightly against his body under the armor that had been made for an earth pony. Now he'd have to work fast if he planned on getting away without being able to fly.

Skidding around a corner, he ran headlong into a pair of guards making their daily rounds just as the alarm bell started to ring. "Hey! What's the big i-!" exclaimed the guard before Orion quickly jabbed his hoof into the guard's solar plexus, causing him to gasp in pain and double over unconscious while his comrade brought down the tip of his spear to take a thrust at the intruder.

Orion easily dodged the clumsy lunge,  making a complete turn around before rearing up and bucking the guard into a nearby wall. With a sickening crunch, the guard fell to the floor with a moan, quickly checking out of reality and into dreamland. Satisfied that he had dispatched both guards, Orion continued to gallop until he stood in front of what he was risking life and limb for - the Starswirl the Bearded Wing.

He began to tinker with the lock, grunting with annoyance as it refused to yield. "To get this far, only to be stopped by a simple lock!" he muttered, smashing his hoof against it in frustration. He reached behind him for his saddlebags and was met with nothing but air before he remembered he had hidden both his bags and his clothes under the bridge leading up to the castle entrance. "Oh, for the love of-"

His swearing was interrupted as he heard hooves clop noisily down the hallway. As the echoes of shouts in the far distance grew closer, Orion quickly surveyed the entire area around him to find a way to avoid getting captured before the might of the Guard came down upon him like a mighty hammer blow. With time working against him, Orion quickly resorted to a drastic measure after spotting the armor of the guards he had just knocked out half a length down the hall. He would eventually look back on this event one day and laugh at the fact that he even considered doing it.

When 2nd Lt. Falcon arrived on the scene, his anger had reached a boiling point. Tonight had been his night to prove himself to his superior, and here he was facing an unknown intruder that had assaulted not one, but three of his men - rendering them both incapacitated and unarmored. "When I get my hooves on you, whoever you are, you're going to regret the day you decided to cross 2nd Lt. Falcon of the Royal guard," said Falcon, his face a picture of barely contained rage.

As he scanned the dimly lit area leading up towards the wing, one of his subordinates ran up to him holding a helmet in his mouth. "Sir! We've found the scattered pieces of one of the armor sets missing from a guards pony outside the wing, with another set littering the anteroom past the gate inside!"

"What!? That's impossible!" howled the lieutenant as he glared furiously through the bars. Inside, the familiar glint of golden armor shined at him with a mocking wink. "How did he get in!?"

"He must have tampered with the locks, sir!" another guard volunteered, peering closer to examine the one in question. "It appears to be the case that he unlocked and relocked the door behind him, sir!"

"That cheeky-!" Falcon scowled, turning to face his regiment. "Open up the door, now! We'll search the wing from top to bottom and flush him out!" Turning to face another pair of guards, he gave them an angry stare. "You two! Alert Captain Shining Armor at once!"

As soon as a guardspony arrived with the key to the wing, they all flooded in like ants to a sugar pool. None of them noticed a figure dropping down from the ceiling above them that joined them under the cover of chaos. I'm glad that ponies rarely choose to look up, Orion thought to himself as he blended in with the busy guards. It had been tricky forcing guard armor in between the bars of the gate leading into the wing - trickier still to undo the bonds attaching his chest plate to him and flying up to balance on the rafters that crisscrossed above the hallway (he re-did his armor while the guards sent for a key). Now another face in the confusion, he began searching the shelves for the prize he had been working for all night. Where is that bloody scroll? he wondered to himself before he felt a feeling of dread hit his gut.

Hearing a small gasp from behind him, his blood ran cold as he found his premonitions to come true. He quickly turned to find himself face-to-face with the librarian he had run into earlier. Oh, hell. How much worse can this possibly get?

Any hope of not being recognized flew out the window as he watched her face change from one of worry to fear. "Y-you're-!" she managed to exclaim before Orion forced a hoof over her mouth (again) and tried to keep her from alerting the other guards in the wing.

It was too late. The piercing cry she had given out attracted the attention of the entire regiment, and Orion found himself backed up against a bookshelf while keeping an iron grip on his hostage. Spears lowered everywhere as the guard formed a pointy wall of death between himself and the exit.

"Unhand her, you fiend, and face the justice of Equestrian law!" commanded 2nd Lt. Falcon as he stepped out in front of his men.

Orion remained silent, his gaze wandering from guard to guard until he spotted a nearby window. He began to form a desperate plan of escape, although he gave no indication of it and decided to tighten his grip on Aurora by throwing a second hoof around her waist, keeping her in front of him like a shield. In that position and in the darkness that flooded the wing, neither Orion nor the guard could see the violent blush that began to tinge her sky blue coat.

I-I've never been this close to a stallion before...do they all feel this warm? she thought, the absurdity of the situation affecting her mind. Has she been in a more pleasant situation, she suspected she might have enjoyed the embrace she currently found herself in. Now she was only in a strange state between being embarrassed and downright terrified at being in the hooves of a strange pony who could match the strength and prowess of a guardspony one for one.

"This is your last warning - Release her!" Behind the lieutenant, guards prepared to run Orion through with their spears if he failed to comply with their leader's command.

I'm not going to enjoy this, Orion thought darkly to himself. In one swift motion, he drew out a standard issue commando knife from it's niche in the guard armor and held it tight against Aurora's throat, eliciting a small eep of terror from his captive as he kept it gripped between his teeth. "Shtay back or de lady getsh it. Alsho, drop your weaponsh," he said, the knife inhibiting his ability to finer speech.

Instantly, the lieutenant's face transformed from enraged to doubtful as the anger from his eyes melted away to be replaced with...worry? "Let's be reasonable here. Let the miss go, and I promise your punishment will be lighter than it already is. I give you my word as a lieutenant of the guard."

I wonder what caused the quick turn around, thought Orion curiously as he glanced between Falcon and Aurora. Perhaps our lieutenant harbors certain feelings for the librarian? he conjectured before returning to the reality - and wall of spears - that awaited him. "I'm not a fool. If I gave her up, you would doubtless command your men to run me through, and I have no particular wish to be an over-sized shish-kabob," he answered, quietly undoing the straps to his chest plate with his hoof that was wrapped around Aurora's waist. "I can't allow myself to die until I finish what I've set out to do."

The chest plate burst off without warning as Orion forcefully spread his wings outward, the metal ricocheting off the bookcase behind him to hit a royal guard in the forehead. As the guards were momentarily distracted by their fallen brother, Orion grabbed both of Aurora's forelegs before jumping out the window he had eyed earlier, much to the disbelief turned rage of Falcon.

"Faust damn it!" Falcon bellowed, rushing towards the window to see his prey and the librarian fly into the night. "After them! Now! Rouse the rest of the Guard if you have to, I want that stallion found and punished for his crimes against the state!" As his regiment scuttled to do his bidding, he could only glower at the shadowy figure of the pegasus pony carrying his captive into the distance. "Just you wait; I'll tear this city apart if that's what it takes to find you, and when I do death would be too sweet for you," he avowed darkly under his breath.