" Atten-SHUN!". I never did get used to hearing that.

" At ease", I told the stallions. " Glad to see you boys haven't quit yet".

The new recruits, Dinny Bug and Stream Chaser, weren't exactly the best for this job. But I was surprised to see they made it this far through training. Ol' Armor probably eased up on them. I don't blame him, Dinny looked skinnier than a toothpick when he joined, but now its a thin wall of muscle.

" Thank you sir", they saluted.

" Silver, boys, remember that". I never liked the whole 'superior officer' thing. We would all fight for this nation, so why salute someone that would die just the way you would.

The mess was louder than I remembered, some talk about these Lunar Guards coming through. In all honesty, I never even met the guys but everyone hated them. I'm not talking name calling and crap, I'm talking full on fights in the barracks. Me and Captain had to restrain them sometimes, once Celestia walked in on us trying to handle it. Boy did those boys quiet down.

Today though, it was just talk, thank Celestia. I don't know how many more bucks to the stomach I can take without my armor. But that talk died down, and when I turned to see why I was kind of surprised. Princess Celestia was making her way over with, son of a gun, Princess Luna.

Of course I got on all fours and bowed. " Your majesties".

" Rise Lieutenant", Luna told me. Ever since she got back from that 1,000 year banishment thing her talk was kind of weird and offending. Now though it's normal.

" What is it I can do?", I asked. Celestia's horn glowed and a scroll levitated in front of me. Before I could open it the princess of the sun made direct contact with me.

" For another time Lieutenant", she sternly said. Behind her I could see the guys just watching. " Farewell, and remember to read it as soon as possible".

" And remember". Princess Luna came closer to me when she said this," It is for your eyes only Lieutenant".

" Yes ma'am". If I hadn't lost my fear of the princesses years ago, I would've shit a brick right there. Instead I took the scroll and tightly wrapped it.

Of course the guys came flooding to my table. " What'd she give you?", one asked.

" Retiring already sir?", Dinny chuckled. I waved them off with my hoof.

" Sorry boys, my eyes only. Now get out of here". They left at least, leaving me to wait for the Captain.

" You're early today huh?". Speak of the devil.

" After drills yesterday I'm surprised I didn't wake up sooner", I laughed. " It's good to see you Armor. How's the little sis?".

The Captain sat across from me with his tray of hay and cider. " Good to see you too, and as for Twiley she's fine", he grinned. " What's with the scroll?".

I shrugged and showed him the seal. " Royal business, you just missed the princesses".

" The princesses gave you it? Personally?", he sounded doubtful.

" Yep, just now. Both of 'em. Whatever's on here must be pretty important", I said aloud.

" Must be if both of them came". There was another thing bothering me about the scroll. It didn't have the usual seal of the sun or moon. Instead, a sort of pointed eared pony head with a dagger behind it adorned the black seal.

" So how goes the Empire, must be interesting to be crystal", I laughed. He groaned as he smacked his head onto the table.

" Don't get me started. Its not that it's hard, just boring", Shining groaned. " You guys get to have all the fun on the field".

I laughed sort of then punched him in the shoulder. " Yeah well get used to it Prince".

Ever since I served under Armor in the battles at the Badlands we were buddies. Ironically, it was also the time when I earned my first dozen medals for bravery on the field. Sure hauling three wounded to safety is pretty hard with all those damn changelings firing spells but it wasn't too big a deal. But I shot through the ranks while I chatted with Shining more and more.

He even introduced me to Twilight Sparkle, his little sister, and Princess Cadence, his wife and my old HVT (High value target). She didn't know me outside guard duty but I didn't blame her, no pony really knows who the guards are without their armor. Still, she was surprised to see me out of the castle, and his sister was a total nerd.

" We meeting tonight for a drink?". I shrugged, since I wasn't much of a drinker.

" Depends on this letter", I showed him it. Finishing up the last of my hay I got up to leave. " But I'll see if I can, just save me a spot".

" Will do". I waved him off while I stepped into the hallway and headed for my bunk.

Sure today was my 'day of freedom' as we guards called it, but there wasn't really anywhere else for me to go. My parents were in Fillydelphia, the other side of Equestria, my brothers and sister were vacationing, and I was stuck here. One of the many perks of being a guard. Don't get me wrong, I'd die twice for this country, but sometimes it's kind of a drag.

I jumped into the unforgiving mattress and pulled out the scroll. Without hooves or magic it's a challenge to peel the seal off. I could rip it off, but last time I did that was in my Private years. After getting the damn thing off I opened it up to read it.

Dear Lieutenant Silver Spirit,

You are a very rare stallion in the Solar Guard. Not only did you prove yourself in the Badlands, but you also rescued those stallions in Germane. The recounts of your deployments are of the noblest, and some might even say you deserve to be Captain of the Solar Guard.

I read until there, since this was starting to sound like somepony was watching me. But I kept on.

We've seen your skills firsthoof, and would like to extend an offer to you. If you're interested, speak to Princess Celestia at midnight any night. This offer could help you greatly, so we would advise you accept

That last part sounded threatening. But that aside, I was really interested as to why there wasn't a signature. Instead, it was just a hoof print with an X connecting it. What kind of offer did they have in mind? And just who the hay was this? It was 11:30, so I finally thought why not?

Going to see the princess is no laughing matter, so I fixed up my cerulean coat a bit. I slicked my black mess of a mane back to at least look decent. The castle was like a blueprint seared onto my brain, I could get through it blindfolded. And after some nods to the guards still on duty I got to the staircase leading to the solar princess' chamber.

Strange thing was, there weren't any guards there. That was pretty unusual, since I was the one who assigned them to guarding their chambers. Now I could see just how important this offer was. I climbed the enormous staircase at last and stood in front of the golden doors. I knocked on the door twice and no more.

Soon enough, the door opened and I was told," Enter".

It was Celestia's voice, so I wasn't too nervous. That changed when I saw the other princess standing by the balcony. Y'know those creepy door slams in movies when someone's about to die? Yeah, that's how I felt.

" I read the letter, and I wanted to know more". Their expressions didn't change, but I could feel a disturbance.

" Silver, how long have you served in the Solar Guard?". That was a little dumb, since she could just pull up my file.

" Ten years ma'am", I answered like any guard.

" And are you loyal to your country?". Another obvious question.

" Of course ma'am". Now the lunar princess walked closer.

" And how many medals and titles of honor have you recieved?".

At this point I could tell that whatever it was they were offering, it had something to do with my career. " Eighteen ma'am".

" Do you feel any hatred or mistrust towards the Lunar Guard?", Luna asked.

" No ma'am. I barely know them".

Before another question could be asked, I decided to just get it out.

" With all due respect your highnesses, but I was wondering what this offer was", I spoke carefully and respactively.

" My sister and I have observed your records and reports in battle", Celestia said as she pulled up my file. " Lieutenant Silver shows much valiance on the field. It seems as though each engagement is just another drill for him.".

Luna pulled up her copy of my file. "The lieutenant refused to retreat even after reinforcements were to be delayed another day. His deployment bought another day for Captain Shining Armor to pull the Solar Guard around to the changeling hive". I still wasn't getting it. " You are a very rare stallion Lieutenant, a stallion who is patriotic to the heart".

" Shining Armor's more committed than me, your majesty", I said. It was true, the guy always worked himself hard as hell. Broke a bone at drill one time too.

" Another one of your traits is you're humble", Celestia added. " You're a very skilled stallion, both guard and pony. And that is why you're here".

A pony I didn't see before walked between the princesses. I recognized the usual Lunar Guard helm, but not the rest of his armor. It looked thinner, more versatile than regular guards armor.

" Hello Lieutenant", he said. " I am Captain Shadow Stone, leader of the EUOD".

I raised a brow and asked," What's the EUOD, sir?".

He chuckled, then smiled. " Exactly, no pony knows who we are. The EUOD is the Equestrian Undercover Operations Division", he said proudly.

" The EUOD is a discreet division that has served us for millenia", Luna said. " They are a highly trained force of ponies, and the loyalist in the the land".

Suddenly I was starting to understand why I was here. " So that was the seal on the letter?", I asked. Shadow nodded to me.

" With your skills we would like to offer you a position in the EUOD", Shadow cut to the chase.

Don't get me wrong, being a spy or black-ops agent sounded cool and all, but I know how things like this work. " What's the catch?".

" I knew you'd be good for this", Shadow chuckled. " To join the EUOD, you lose your rank, your bunk, all those medal ain't worth hay, and you can't talk to no one about it. Its undercover for a reason, mind you".

Everything I ever worked for, all the messes I've gone through, to lose it all? Hay no, I watched good stallions die on the field, I trudged tens of pounds of equipment through battle. Hay, I even broke a bone while dragging the Captain's sorry ass away from the ambush. He still owes me that favor.

" But, there are a few up sides to being an EUOD agent". It didn't sound like anything that could make it better than losing your career practically.

" Like?".

" The pay is significantly better", Luna said. " And you will be working alongside the true best of the best".

" Along with EUOD, you have complete diplomatic inmunity, access to the royal funds and any knowledge within our power", Celestia added. Well there's mud in my eye. " Should you accept, that is".

Now this was a toughie. I could join an elite division of guards, get a whole new set of training, and money and basically a stay-out-of-jail card. But I would still lose my status as Lieutenant, all those achievements down the drain like trash.

Or I could stay with Captain, help the new recruits, and pray to Celestia next time I get my hooves dirty I don't end up in sick bay. Still, I would be saying no to both princesses, and a Captain of a secret black op unit.

" We understand there is much we are asking from you Lieutenant", Luna dragged me out of my thoughts. " You have until midnight tomorrow to decide".

Shadow looked a bit disappointed, and all he did was sigh. " If that's what you think your highness", he sighed.

" Lieutenant, as Shadow said, this is a top secret discussion", Celestia moved closer. " As of now, this meeting never happened, we never offered you any scroll, Luna was never here nor Captain Stone. There's no such thing as the EUOD, correct?".

I've never heard the princess, kind and fair ruler of the land, speak so threateningly. This wasn't something you could just go talking to your friends about. Not like I would do that of course.

" Right", I saluted. " Ma'am. Captain".

With a salute and nod I left, finally. Don't get me wrong, I'm very loyal to the princesses, and it's not that I'm afraid. Hay, I've been face to face with a manticore before. It's just that, I don't even know what I'd say to the Captain. 'Oh Armor, we've saved each other's asses dozens of times and I bled for this position, now I'm going to leave to be a private'.

There would be no fooling the Captain, he's not gullible or anything synonomous with the word. Sure there was the wedding but, anyways. Being honest and loyal to the guy made me the worst liar next to...what was her name? Pinkie Pie? Some incident in Ponyville when I was a Seargant, a pink mare that had one too many drinks.

So yeah, bad liar. I wasn't even sure where I was going when I bumped into the door to the barracks. Curses were spilled, and I tossed myself on my bunk like any other night. Except now, I was thinking probably the most ridiculous thing ever.

Maybe joining wouldn't be so bad. Maybe.

Author's Note

Story two, WOO! This idea came to me in the middle of my English classes. We'll see where I go with this. Remember, like, fav, comment, and have a rockin' day or night!