Her Majesty's Royal Guard

Up until a couple of moments ago, Aurora had been too overwhelmed by the surreal circumstances of her situation to notice what was going on around her. The transition between being a responsible royal librarian to being a submissive hostage was a jarring experience for a pony who lead an extremely dry day-to-day lifestyle. In fact, it was only when she felt her hooves leave the ground that Aurora was brought down to earth - in a manner of speaking, of course.

"Hey!" she protested, struggling against Orion's iron grip on her forelegs. "Put me down or I'll- I'll-!"

"You won't want to be doing that, miss. I don't want to drop you," came Orion's quiet reply, barely audible over the midnight breeze that enveloped them. His eyes were focused on the ground as he watched for any projectiles that might be flying up to meet them. As luck would have it, the Guard was in turmoil from the confusing orders of the officer in duty Falcon, and the guards that would normally be posted on the walls surrounding the castle were absent carrying out some other tasks.

Aurora had no intention of listening to the pony who had held her at knife-point, and continued to her efforts to free herself when a particularly strong gust of wind chilled her to the core and caused her to shiver violently. "C-could we at least get down lower? It's freezing up h-here!" she yelped as another icy blast of win hit them from the side.

The unexpected chill managed to penetrate Orion's concentration enough for him to realize that if they didn't drop to a lower altitude they would both freeze to death. He also became aware of the fact that the mare he was carrying was shivering violently, something he should have noticed since she was an earth pony and probably not used to the temperature drops that were liable to occur at higher altitudes. "Do you live close by?" he asked coolly, intending to drop her off where she lived as a sort of 'sorry for your troubles' gesture.

"W-what does that have to do with anything!?"  Aurora exclaimed, trying to conserve any body heat she had left. "I'm not telling my k-kidnapper where I live!"

Realizing that in her current state of mind she was unlikely to believe any gestures of goodwill he might offer her, Orion decided to bank downwards towards the bridge where he had hidden his clothing and saddlebags from earlier in the night. "Make sure not to struggle, we'll be landing now."

Orion glided them under the bridge, their hooves lightly making contact with the ground. Gently lowering the rest of the mare towards safety, he plopped himself to the ground in exhaustion. Being fit was a must as a mercenary, but his wing power was nothing impressive since he spent most of his time on the ground; that being said, while his body's constitution could be comparable to that of an extremely fit earth pony, his wings - with a wing power of 5.1 - were hardly prepared for carrying the weight of two ponies over an extended period of time.

Shaking off the frost that had accumulated on his body over the short flight, Orion began to remove his helmet and armored gauntlets when he noticed that Aurora had retreated to a corner and was shivering terribly. Her yellow eyes were filled with fear and wariness as she regarded him as some sort of monster.

Well, I suppose I am, in a fashion, he mused to himself, a grim smile briefly flitting across his face. Reaching for his saddlebags, he pulled out a woolen travel blanket and dropped it over the mare. "Here," he said with sincere remorse in his voice. "I...am sorry. I did not mean to drag you into this mess."

Aurora looked up in surprise before tightly wrapping the blanket around her, reveling in the sudden warmth that blossomed throughout her body. To say that she was astonished by this action would be a fairly large understatement; up until this point she had thought of her captor as a cruel and heartless fiend that would eventually do unspeakable things to her (or maybe that was all the romance novels she had read talking). "Thanks..." she mumbled, taking a deep breath into the fuzzy warmth that surrounded her. It smelled of the sharp tang of explosives mixed with the dizzying sourness of ale, creating a confusing yet somehow soothing combination. "Uhm..." she started before stopping herself. Truth be told, she didn't know what she was supposed to feel now. In her mind she was supposed to be terrified out of her wits, but instead she felt confused and curious about the strange situation she found herself in despite everything. The life of a librarian was not especially exciting for a pony, and the adrenaline that pumped through her veins made her feel a raw sense of vivacity that she had never experienced before. He does look like he's sorry...maybe he's not that bad. Wait, what am I thinking!? He held me captive with a knife at my throat, then kidnapped me! But he doesn't seem like a bad stallion... Aurora continued to grapple with her conflicting emotions until she had worked herself up a notch. Why do I feel so confused? Shouldn't the answer be clear? she wondered to herself. Shaking her head to clear her mind of such thoughts, Aurora saw something from the corner of her eye that drew her attention.

Standing in the moonlight fully dressed in his stetson and duster, Orion stared towards the horizon as silvery beams highlighted his red-streaked grey mane. Seemingly deep in thought, he failed to notice the scrutiny he was being placed under by the mare he had brought with him. Aurora allowed her eyes to drink in his fit figure, drifting over him until they rested upon his cutie mark that was partly visible through the ruined cloth of the duster. It looked like half of a cloud with a tornado, which she assumed had something to do with a special weather talent. Lingering over his mark, she had perhaps stared too intently as Orion stirred and turned his head to focus on her. As she moved up her gaze to meet his, she could see the contrition that was evident in his eyes.

"Are you unhurt?" he asked neutrally, his tone staying level and unchanged while his eyes did all of the talking. Then again, most eyes did all of the talking in front of Aurora. Her special talent involved judging a pony's character through their body language and their eyes, and in that moment Aurora knew that the stallion in front of her was at least not purposely malicious. Still, being held captive had mortified her to some degree, so she wasn't quite ready to forgive him yet.

"I would be if I were sitting at home right now, nestled comfortably under my bed covers. Instead, I'm sitting under a bridge after having been kidnapped and held captive against my will, and I almost froze to death earlier," she said with as much indignation as she could muster, considering the circumstances.

Orion gave an imperceptible bow of the head. "No amount of apologies will express my regret in allowing an innocent to get involved, and you have every reason to be hostile towards me if you are so inclined. But right now, I cannot afford to die or become captured - not until I can find what I'm looking for," he avowed with such conviction that Aurora had the impression that he very well intended to see his plans to the end - whatever they may be. Shifting his hooves awkwardly, he addressed Aurora , "Do you wish to return home? I will place my wings under your service to see you safely back where you belong."

Taken aback by the honesty of his intentions, Aurora displayed a brief moment of hesitation before shaking her head vigorously. "Oh, no. That's not necessary..." she said demurely, casting her eyes towards the ground. "I can walk home from here."

"Farewell, then. I'm sorry we had to meet like this; I've given you a rather bad first impression." With a powerful flap of his wings, Orion launched himself into the sky without a glance backwards.

Aurora watched him go until she could no longer make out his form against the nighttime sky. "This was by far the strangest night I've ever been through," she mumbled, trotting out from under the bridge before heading towards her villa in the upper tier of Canterlot (it pays to be the royal Librarian, after all). Interestingly enough, she could not bring herself to hate the stallion; she could only wonder at who he was and if she would ever find out.

As a golden dawn slowly cracked the horizon, Orion was already briskly making his way towards the recruitment office as per instructed the previous day. He had replaced his considerably ruined duster with a spare he had back at his hideout in lower Canterlot, and he strode forward in relative haste so as to avoid early morning traffic. Now and then, his wing muscles twinged painfully and caused him to grimace; the strain he had placed them under last night was starting to affect them, and Orion had no choice but to bear with each painful spasm as it came.

As he entered the office, Orion raised an eyebrow upon seeing that the guard from yesterday had been replaced with somepony else. "Excuse me. I came in yesterday to apply for the recruitment program, and-"

"Oh, so you're that odd one that Heartstrings told me about!" laughed the guard, his jovial expression catching Orion off guard. "It's your lucky day! The Cap's agreed to take you on for a month trial period, ain't that a gem?"

"Lucky indeed," Orion agreed, feeling a sense of bittersweet satisfaction. With this, his plans were now put on hold - potentially for good. Despite the guarantee of food and housing, he started to question the wisdom of his decision to join the Guard so soon after arriving in Canterlot when the guard interrupted his thoughts.

"In fact, the Captain wants to see you as soon as possible for an interview. He's intrigued to see the kind of stallion you are, and he also wants to make sure he's not hiring a changeling" explained the guard as he levitated a map of the castle with an emerald green aura. "This circled area is the captain's office. You'll need this to find your way. Also," paused the guard as he reached for a scroll resting on his desk," these papers are a temporary visa to allow you access to the castle. Your permanent one won't be issued until after the trial period is over."

After briefly consulting the map and the visa, Orion gave the guard a curt nod before trotting out the office. Preparing himself for the pain that was to follow, he took to the skies with one swift flap of the wings, enjoying the feeling of the wind blowing through his mane even as his wings complained all the while to Canterlot Castle.

As he arrived at the gates, he lightly touched down in front of two pegasi guards. "Here on Guard business. I'm to meet with Captain Shining Armor as soon as possible," Orion stated, his voice serious and unfaltering under the scrutiny of the guardponies.

"Papers, please," the guard on his left responded, holding out a hoof for Orion's visa.

Hoofing over the precious document, he waited as the guard skimmed over the scroll and grunted his approval. "Everything is in order. You may pass," intoned the guards, simultaneously raising their spears while the guard returned the visa to it's owner. Orion was now (for the second time) in the boundaries of the royal castle.

He let loose a low whistle. His late night excursion had left little time for him to enjoy the sights, and now Orion fully drank in the grandeur that surrounded him. Tall, sweeping arches held up a ceiling that seemed to breach the heavens themselves, supported by pristine pillars of marble tinged with gold dust. His hooves sank into the soft red carpet as he walked past priceless paintings by Hoovinci, Ventus, and John Joseco. As he came upon the door to Shining Armor's office, he heard a familiar voice through the walls.

Placing his ear against the door, Orion could barely make out the words. " - had the Guard combing the city since the incident. I swear that I'll bring the stallion who did this to justice," 2nd Lt. Falcon maintained, his voice a mass of barely concealed anger.

An authoritative voice whom Orion assumed belonged to Shining Armor gave a heavy sigh. "Falcon, I know that you are a capable officer, but isn't this a bit much? Three of the Guard when down on your watch, and the perpetrator escaped with the royal Librarian for Celestia's sake! Thankfully, she showed up for work this morning in one piece, but she said she couldn't remember anything after the rogue jumped out the window. Tell me, Falcon," the voice addressed to the unfortunate lieutenant,"what would you do in my position?"

When Falcon remained silent, the voice sighed again. "Maybe a reassignment would be more befitting for you until you've gained more experience as an officer. Expect to be notified of transfer by tomorrow morning at the latest. Dismissed."

"But sir! I-" contended Falcon, clearly unhappy with the way things were turning out.

"Dismissed, 2nd lieutenant," the voice said quietly with the weight of finality.

Pedaling backwards at the sound of stiff hooves marching, Orion barely managed to avoid being hit on the snout by the door as the lt. stomped out. Falcon hardly gave him a second glance as he disappeared down the hall muttering curses under his breath. "Damn. Damn!"

Well, at least I don't have to worry about him for a while, Orion thought, knocking on the door frame with his hoof as he peered inside the room.

Shining Armor glanced up from his paperwork. "Ah, come in! You must be the mercenary who wants to join the Guard," he said warmly, offering Orion a seat with his free hoof as he shut the door with his magic. He pulled out a sheaf documents as Orion settled into his chair, reviewing them with an appraising eye. "Pretty interesting resume if you've done what you say you've done, Orion," observed Shining Armor as he read into the top sheet. "It says here that you've fought against diamond dog raiding parties back in the Diamond Dog conflict five years ago before being hired as a border guard at a fort on the Equestria - Badlands border, where you've served ever since. You've also collected a couple bounties on dangerous Equestrian criminals," he commented, receiving a nod of confirmation from Orion. "However, you've declined to mention anything towards education, parents, and the like. Any particular reason why?"

"A stallion like me makes a lot of enemies over the years, Captain," replied Orion in a gruff tone.

"Understandable," said Shining Armor with a nod. "Can you hold on a moment? I want to check something really fast." Without waiting for a reply, Shining Armor blasted Orion with a matrix of light that lasted for half a second before dissipating into the air. "Well, at least you're not a changeling."

Orion's skin felt tingly after the sudden exposure to magic, but he was not angry. After all, if he was captain of a military force that was recently infiltrated by changelings, he'd have done the same thing.

"Now, in regards to your lack of personal history; it is not possible for me to admit anypony to the Guard based solely on qualifications, so you'll understand why I had this made," he explained while placing a hefty file onto the desk in front of him.

Orion eyed the file with suspicion, not liking the direction where this conversation was heading. "What is 'that' exactly, Captain?"

"It took me quite a while to find your legal name, Storm Cloud, son of the famous Rain Cloud and Thunder Cloud. An entire day, in fact, which shows how thoroughly you tried to hide your tracks." At this point, all the previous friendliness had dropped from Shining Armor's voice to be replaced with a questioning tone that expected answers.

While Orion made no movement to rise, his shoulders suddenly tensed. "I don't know where you got that information, but I'm not the stallion you think I am," Orion responded cautiously, keeping his face devoid of any emotion other than assumed nonchalance in front of the bemused captain.

"There's no sense in denying it; I'll admit that the depth to which you had your past erased is quite something for a civilian pony, but you couldn't get rid of the documents stored by the Ministry of Public Records. It was no easy feat to dig back twenty years ago to find your birth certificate, but everything falls into place after that. This file contains everything from childhood address of residence to grades received during your time at the Long Island Military Institute on Manehattan," Shining asserted with a tone of certainty. "Photos, new articles, everything has been recorded and filed. Everything except the period of time between your disappearance from the institute and your reappearance as an accomplished mercenary at Fort Knox." Finally raising his head, Shining rested his gaze onto Orion's still form. "I called you in to fill in this gap."

"Is that so," Orion growled, unable to hold back his anger completely. "By your leave, Captain." Orion rose out of his seat and gave Shining Armor a curt nod before exit the room as as Shining rose after him.

"Stop right there, Storm," commanded Shining sternly. "I'll have you answer my inquiries before you leave if you intend to serve in the Guard."

"With all due respect, Captain Armor, my name is Orion," Orion insisted through gritted teeth. "You have the wrong stallion."

"Do you really expect me to believe that? With the way you're acting right now combined with the information in this file?" Shining said incredulously. He softened his tone of voice. "I just want to know what happened to your paren-"

"At risk of disobeying a superior officer, I'll have to stop you from going further, Captain Armor," Orion said quietly but forcefully, slowly turning to face the captain. "Who I was in the past is irrelevant; I am Orion and I have the qualifications to assist you in your training program. If doing so requires me to reveal my past where it is completely unwarranted to do so, then I don't wish to be employed. My history is mine alone; it is not yours nor anypony's place to dig into it." The intensity with which he said this statement was enough for Shining to be taken aback.

Flabbergasted, Shining Armor made no attempt to question any further. In his heart, he knew Orion was right; it was wrong of him to invade another pony's privacy only to sate his own morbid curiosity. Opening his mouth to speak an apology, Shining was interrupted by a light blue pegasus who burst his way through the door. His mane gave signs of a rushed flight over, and his eyes still held the bleariness of sleep. "Wonderbolt Soarin, reporting in sir!" he said emphatically, his eyes trying to readjust to his surroundings. "My apologies for being late-" Soarin's eye's widened as he recognized the second individual in the room. "You!"

Orion turned his head, staring in semi-disbelief. He gave a surprised grunt. "What's the drunkard doing here?"

"What!? I oughta-!" Soarin angrily advanced towards Orion before Shining Armor stepped between the two of them.

"Calm yourself, Soarin! There will be no fighting amongst comrades, in my office no less!" Shining barked, serving Soarin with a withering glare until the pegasus stepped down.

"He isn't a comrade of mine," Soarin muttered darkly, shooting Orion a dirty glare.

"Actually, effective now, he is; you're both going into the Guard Academy's training program, so start behaving like an adult rather than a spoiled child!" scolded Shining Armor.

Orion remained calm through the proceedings, as if he found the outburst made against him insignificant. "May I have my leave, Captain? I've things to prepare for the beginning of my tenure."

"Of course. Visit the royal quartermaster down the hall; he'll assign you to your quarters. As for our earlier discussion, if you ever feel like divulging anymore details I would be utmost grateful. It will have to wait for a more...opportune moment, however." Shining now openly grinned at the newly hired mercenary. "Welcome to the Guard, Orion."

"Sir." With a salute, Orion briskly trotted out of the room, leaving Soarin alone with the captain. "Why in the hay are you hiring that guy? He's a maniac!" Soarin moaned, remembering what happened yesterday at the bar.

"He is a professional, albeit with a strange past," Shining Armor sighed, massaging his temple with a hoof. "Unlike another stallion in this room."

"Bu- he- I mea-" Soarin stuttered incoherently.

"Look, Soarin, whatever there is between you and him had better not get in the way of your duties. I won't allow dissent in the ranks of my Royal Guard," admonished Shining sternly. He had the look of a pony who did not want to be argued with.

Soarin vented out a heavy sigh, the anger seeping out of his body. "If you say so, Captain Armor."

"Good. Anyhow, you were supposed to be here yesterday with Spitfire for a joint briefing - now you'll simply have to learn it as you go."

"That was my bad. Things came up and I forgot to check the letter until his morning," Soarin said apologetically.

Shining Armor shrugged. "Well, you showed up. That gives you some merit. Just don't make a habit of it, alright?"

"Yessir. So, what am I here for? I'm guessing that I'm being assigned to the Academy training program?"

"Yes, you and Spitfire will be responsible for teaching our pegasi guards coordinated flight formations, finer aerial maneuvers, and the basics of air tactics. I've instated both of you to the rank of 2nd Lt. officers to reflect your new responsibilities."

"Wait...2nd Lieutenant?" Soarin asked, a look of worry entering his face. "What about the Wonderbolts? What will they do while me 'n Spitfire are gone?"

"Rest assured, Soarin. You're only being assigned to teach the recruits some stuff about flying, so you'll have plenty of time to balance between your Wonderbolt duties and Guard duties," Shining Armor chuckled, grinning at him for the first time. "After all, having the Wonderbolts decommissioned for the sake of revamping the Guard would hardly reflect well on my records, wouldn't it?" he said, giving Soarin a friendly wink.

"Sir, no sir!" Soarin shouted, reciprocating the grin. Maybe this new job wouldn't be so bad; he'd get to hang out with Spitfire more, and that's always a plus.

"Alright then, 2nd Lieutenant. You're dismissed. Be sure to report to the barracks at 0600 hours to get a quick briefing before the day begins." Noticing the blank expression on Soarin's face, Shining relented. "That's 6 AM in civilian time."

"Oh, I can do that!" Soarin nodded his understanding. With that, he bolted out of the door in a rush. "Got to get to practice now. Thank you, Captain!"