As the Grand Galloping Gala draws closer the intensity of our training grows. As trainees we live at the castle in the Royal Guard quarters. I show a knack for personal protection as I can float just above the ground, opening me up to fight hoof to hoof better than Unicorns and earth ponies. Formation training bulks us ponies up bigger than we had thought possible and one day we even push back the magic being fired at us for training purposes. (That is quickly rectified though as we are introduced to double the firepower) Midnight Starlight continues to be our teacher and we please her more with every session. One morning we start training late as Midnight does her daily inspection "You trainees are progressing well… beyond what I thought you would. Now as you know the Grand Galloping Gala is coming in only two weeks. While we can't have you guarding the castle and the princess personally on your first shift, you will be doing patrols all over Canterlot and even Underlot-" Midnight looks at me at the mention of Underlot "-during the night. A big task due to all the agitation going on throughout Canterlot at the moment." Midnight looks at one of the scrawny pegasi who we call 'scrap' due to his bad luck with equipment. "We hope you're up to the task" For a scrawny pony scrap has big balls and he stands eye to eye with Midnight and says "You damn well know we are… Ma'am" Midnight smiles at his response "Good to hear… Now I hope you can back that up in training." Midnight whistles and our opponents file out form the castle. This time it is fully fledged unicorns in Royal Guard armour "Now these Stallions from the west wall have given up their time to help us with training! Don't disappoint me!" A couple of the royal guards snicker with each other "Let's see what Starlights harem have for us this year…" A pony with a pegasi feather in his helmet calls to his comrades "Five bits on a minute 10!" Another of the royal guards replies with "Only if I got seven bits on 50 seconds!" I stand next to my earth pony partner. Over the last few weeks I learned his name to be Wild Prancer. "You ready Wild?" I touch foreheads with him and we line up in front of the barrage. Midnight calls out "READY!, FIRE!"

The stream of magic punches into my shield, but by now I know how to keep my hooves. I flap for my life as I holster onto Wild. The stream is harder than the volunteers we usually receive but I hold position with Wild. Twenty seconds and I begin to sweat, thirty and I can feel a slight burn in my legs. By forty seconds I hear one of the guards call out. "Weak as piss, that's what all these Underlot ponies are, they'll fall any second now." I don't even know why but this statement angers me. I flap harder and begin to push back the stream of magic. One more push and I tumble the momentum in my favor. I barrel forward into the unicorn and he falls backward onto his side from the impact. I am full of adrenaline form my victory and slam my shield onto the ground in a taunt to the other Unicorns. I look at the line "Weak as piss huh? I'll be coming for my seven bits later!" I turn back to my team expecting cheers and applause but all I get is a furious Midnight Starlight. "GET BACK IN FORMATION STORM CHASER!" I walk back to my line; Wild looks excited for me but is keeping a straight face. When I'm in position again Midnight walks up to me and gets right into my face "I don't know what kind of bucking bullshit you think you're pulling here but you'll be sweeping floors at this rate for the rest of your career." She leaves and is replaced by one of the unicorns "We haven't been knocked on our flank by a trainee in years… Here, you won the bet." Seven bits fall my way and I place them into my pouch. Midnight is looking our way and questions the unicorns "I thought you would all be mad, I can't believe Storm disrespected you like that!" The unicorn with the feather in his helmet smiles at me "Storm won the bet…" Midnight looks at me with angry eyes I hold up my hooves "Hey, I'm not turning down seven bits!" Midnight sighs and her mood changed to the castle guide I met on my first day, she chuckles and I take a step closer to her "Just to make it up to you how about I buy you lunch?" Midnight look around at all her comrades surrounding her and she blushes. "U-um…" She snaps back to her teacher mode "ONLY to make up for embarrassing me you got that?!" When I nod she turns to the group "That's all for this morning! Clean up and meet for personal protection training this afternoon!" She then walks into the castle and I'm left with the unicorns of the west wall, they all look towards me and I pump my hoof, calling out "SCORE!" Laughter erupts in the yard and I hoof bump the guard with the feather in his helmet.

An hour later I'm out on the streets of Canterlot with Midnight. Celestia's sun above shines down on Canterlot and a light breeze cools ponies in the street. I follow Midnight as she trots down the road looking for a particular café that is her favorite. We travel down a alleyway and find a small café tucked away into a building. We sit down at a table and Midnight takes off her helmet, letting her deep purple mane drop. I only wear some saddlebags that contain my bits and I look dull in comparison to the glinting, perfectly polished armour of Midnight. I look at her eyes and for once I don't know what to say as a pony wearing an apron walks over to our table. "Good to see you Midnight! I haven't seen you in months! -" The pony wearing the apron looks much like Midnight, in fact she looks so similar I guess they are related. The coats the same but her eyes don't have that mystic glow… "And who is this you brought with you?" Midnight look at me and I introduce myself "I'm Storm Chaser, I'm sorry I didn't catch your name… Miss?" The pony giggles "Mrs. unfortunately… I am Amethyst Starlight, I'm Midnight's mother." I put on my most charming smile "I thought so, you two are very similar. I'm pleased to meet you Mrs. Starlight" Amethyst's horn glows and a notepad comes out the apron pocket. "Just call me Amethyst, darling… Now what would you two like?" I decide to order a daisy sandwich and a cup of apple tea. Before she leaves Amethyst says "You be careful with this one Midnight! He's a charmer…" She then says as she leaves "Much like your father…" Once Amethyst leaves I turn to Midnight "So that's why you brought me here…" Midnight laughs nervously "Yeah, this is where I grew up… Right under the shadow of the castle." The rest of lunch is just small talk, accompanied by a tasty daisy sandwich. Near the end of our lunch midnight says "Even though I can't say it in front of the other trainees, thanks for standing up for us today. Those Unicorns think I just raise a bunch of soft fillies each year and they really get on my nerves about it." I smile taking a sip of my tea using my wing Seriously how do earth ponies lift the cups? "And now they're buying you lunch…" She laughs, "I guess they are…" Our lunch passes in silence from then on. I take to looking into the street at the ponies walking by. Almost every one of them is a unicorn. Midnight draws her attention form her lunch to ask "So why did you join the Royal Guards Storm?"

I open my mouth to answer but we both hear something. A scream pierces the alley and Midnights eyes open wide. "MUM!" She darts off from the table and, hopping the counter she bursts through a door in the back. I follow close behind; the inside of the house is small. One living room, a kitchen attached and some rooms upstairs. Midnights runs up the stairs, I take a wing powered leap and skip the stairs altogether. Muffled voices come from a room at the end of the hallway. I reach the door first and stop. Midnight stops just in front of me and I hover just near the top. Cocking my back legs back I buck towards the door.

"Finally! Some action!" The crystal pony claps his front hooves together. "The rest of it was just talking… UGH!" Everypony in the Mess Hall is listening intently at the story as the wind continues to blow outside the hall. The other crystal pony ignores his partner and turns towards Storm "So what was inside that room? Surely somepony wouldn't do anything illegal during the middle of the day?" I look towards my crowd "Well… You would be mistaken…"

BAM! The door crashes open and Midnight runs into the room, right into the magic of a waiting unicorn. I loop into the room and crash into the unicorn, he falls and I right myself to asses the situation. Inside the room is three ponies and Amethyst along with who I assume is Midnights father. I can see who midnight got her eyes from Those eyes glow with energy much like Midnights but now, they're an energy of fear. The three ponies, two pegasi and an earth pony are holding down Midnights parents, one of the pegasi is covering Amethysts mouth as she tries to call out to us. "Damn it! You didn't say that there would be guards around!" The earth pony calls out to the unicorn with a deep Underlot accent "I didn't know they would be around!" replies the unicorn with a typical high Canterlot accent. One of the pegasi holding down Amethyst says, shaking "We should go… They might be nice to us." Midnight chuckles "Oh, no… That wont be happening… Not after you try to ponynapp my parents." I hear the Pegasus gulp, Midnight turns to me for support. Something doesn't seem right about this situation and I look at the unicorn "Middle of the day… Lunch time for that matter, you decide to come rob a house why?" The unicorn's eyes open wide "What, rob the house? How did you know?" Everypony is looking at me now. I look at the ponies in the room, the surrounds… "Jewels… That what I'd come for… Canterlot's fit to burst of them easy to steal and easy to sell… Besides let me reiterate with you… Middle of the day, lunchtime for that matter and you want to ponynapp these two? Now I know you must be stupid to rob the house now but ponynapp? No way… " I take a step towards the pegasi now and he inches backwards, I'm on a roll so I continue "So you three? Two pegasi and an earth pony… What street do you live on in underlot fellas?" The unicorn stand mouth agape, his crime is now totally forgotten. I turn to him "And what family do you come from Unicorn! I wonder who's parents I'm gonna have to write to? No wait let me ask you… WHY? You would have all the bits in the world! Why rob an innocent Café owner?" The unicorn blows his mane out of his eyes. "I don't have to tell you!" Midnight walks up to him and growls in his face "I think it's in your best interest to answer his questions before we lock you up for the rest of your life." I walk over to the group of ponies and they thankfully, give over Mr. and Mrs. Starlight peacefully. The unicorn doesn't even take notice of Midnight. "I don't have to talk to you." I lead Mr and Mrs Starlight out of the room and down outside. They are shocked but Mr Starlight thanks me for my help. Midnight comes our a few minutes later with the three ponies. I turn to Mrs Starlight and ask, "Do you know them?" She flinches before answering, "I know the unicorn… His parents come here for lunch sometimes." I know watch Mrs Starlight closely as soon as she answers my question her eyes turn blank, unblinking and unmoving Mrs Starlight stares at a wall between us all. Mr Starlight is staring at his hooves. I grab them both and take them over to a table. Once they are sat down I take a seat and ask them "Are you both ok? Truly?" They just nod I can see in their blank eyes that something's not right "I don't believe you…But it's not up to me to talk about it." I walk over to Midnight and tap on her shoulder. "Hey, I'll take over here but you need to talk to your parents… They're in shock and wont talk to me." Midnight looks over to her parents sitting at the table and sighs. "Ok, thanks Storm for it all." Midnight hugs me around the neck, she smells like the castle and my hearts jumps a couple of times. I return the hug, trying to forget my thoughts. "Go on I'll take over here."

I can see a couple of guards making their way down the street along with a cart. Accompanying them are a couple of the trainees including my formation partner who is helping to pull the cart. It is nice to see a few friendly faces as a unicorn that I don't recognize walks up to me. "Are these the ponies in question?" I nod "They were caught red hoofed trying to rob this café behind me while holding the café owners hostage. Thankfully the hostages were given over peacefully." I unicorn turns to the others "Alright stallions! Chuck them in the back!" Before he leaves I bring over the unicorn again "Is you want to rough any of them throw that unicorn around. He's the mastermind and if he's smart he'll cough up the name of his parents to bail him out before he gets in too much trouble." The unicorn raises his brow "How do you know they'll bail him out?" I give one more wave toward Midnight who returns the wave before I walk with the unicorn "High class unicorn, judging from his accent you probably wouldn't need to go far from the castle to find his parents." The cart rumbles along the road as many ponies stare. The unicorn walks alongside me as we travel with the rest of the ponies in a guarding formation around the cart. "Funny how a Pegasus knows so much about unicorn politics." I chuckle "When you went to magic school you quickly learnt which snobby brat not to hit in case you get royally fucked up later." The unicorn looks at me now "Local?" I nod "Underlot." The unicorn whistles, "You got to have big balls to be a guard nowadays when coming from Underlot." I reply with a smirk "Thanks for noticing…" He shakes his head "A mouth like that? Yep you're from Underlot."