A Star’s Golden Chance

Chapter 1: A Shocking Punishment

Okay, how in the name of Equestria did I get here? Here I was, standing on a large, “T” shaped stage that towered regally before a massive crowd that was filling into what was the grand ballroom. Oh, the ballroom! Wow, what a fancy setup!  The gleaming marble floors, the tall pillars that extended all the way to the rounded ceiling, the magnificent glass windows, and the titanic chandelier that was hung from above. Yep, definitely a room fit for a Princess, and it was...but for two!    

After admiring the hard work that has been put into this beautiful room from a long time ago, my attention was drawn to the hundreds, maybe even thousands of ponies that were dressed in the best gowns and suits money could buy. They continued to gather around the overlooking stage, like a group of swarming bees, only to admire the three of us. We stood on that stage, donned in suits of silver armor. It was armor that was polished to shine in the beautiful moonlight during Equestria’s most important event of the year.

Getting bored of staring at the continuous, forming crowd, my attention was turned to my new comrades, who were also my childhood friends. Observing them from my right side, they almost looked like statues that were carved primarily to look both firm and proud.

The big, muscular earth pony right next to me was known to many as Heavyweight. Upon catching a glimpse at that big ol’ smirk on his face, it looked like he was enjoying the spotlight. Especially with all those muscles on his body flexing like there was no tomorrow.

Then there was the pegasus standing right next to Heavyweight. Quickbrain, as we always called him, didn’t move at all since we first set hooves on that very spot on stage. While staring straight down at the sea on ponies, his features wore what looked like a very stern and serious expression. From the eyes to the snout, it looked nearly identical to the ones we always saw on the royal guard’s faces while on duty. Now that was pretty freaky to see to be frank.

Then there was me. Standing firm, yet wearing no attention loving smirk or a serious stare at all. All there was on my face was pretty much a very blank look. I didn’t find this a shocker because my mind was being infested with a numerous amount of questions. The biggest question that overpowered them all was how the hay did me, Golden Star; a caring but very clumsy night blue pelt unicorn, get wound up as one of three brand new personal royal guards for the Princess of the Night herself, Princess Luna?

You’re probably guessing it was because of my many years spent at the Academy, going through nothing more but grizzly training procedures and dangerous obstacle courses that nearly broke me down both physically and mentally.

Right?

WRONG!

****

It wasn’t even a year since my friends and I were recruited to the Canterlot Royal Guard Academy, and I was already having second thoughts about enlisting in the first place.  With the continuous simulations to the Celestia knows how many protocol testings that we faced, the days were crawling at a slow and miserable pace into the nights.

Of all the physical training and insane exercises that our Commanding Officers enforced on us, Heavyweight took them all like a pro with no signs of slowing down. I wasn’t that surprised, seeing how athletic and confident he had been over the years...though perhaps a bit too confident mind you. When it came to tests on safety protocols, tragic situations, and all the other guidelines on the other hoof, that was pretty much Quickbrain’s strong point, with the physical portions his weak point.

For me, it was a whole different ball park. My body struggled to keep up during the physical portions, while my thinking cap tried to get its motor running in the educational portions. Thankfully, with Heavyweight as a “personal coach” and Quickbrain as a private tutor, I had the strength I needed to keep on going both physically and mentally. Hay, if it weren’t for them, who knows where I would be.

Alright, alright. Let’s get to the “juicy” stuff!

 ****

Another day down, with many more to go as Quickbrain and I trotted back to the barracks. Though barely coming out of a grueling, protocol test alive, the day wasn’t over for both of us just yet. More physical training would continue for us into the night and believe me, it was going to be a very long night. Unfortunately, the early summer heat wouldn’t help us in our situation, even with Celestia’s setting sun reaching the peaks of the nearby mountains and valleys. My golden mane, with a few light orange streaks here and there, was drenched with sweat that could easily be seen a mile away, thanks to the golden aura surrounding my horn.

Trotting next to me, Quickbrain had his snout buried in some sort of geology textbook that hovered right in front of him. The thick book was engulfed in the same color aura as my own horn was, since I was actually holding it for him while we were walking.

“Quickbrain,” I quirked up after a while. “Are you sure that reading while walking is a smart move?”

He murmured something about igneous rock formation before saying, “As a matter of fact, I do. This act of multitasking hasn’t lead to anything regrettable yet.” He burrows his head in the book for one more statistic. “Besides, who was the pony who helped you study for that skeletal test yesterday?”

He got me there. I owed him for helping me study for the test anyway, so what could I do?  It was also a good excuse for me to use telekinesis, the only spell I both knew and could fully control. I could do better than this, I thought to myself.

A sigh of relief escaped my mouth as we passed by the barracks where the older ponies resided. We could soon come to our own barracks, which contained, probably the greatest invention in all of Equestria...AIR CONDITIONING! Yep, we sure were “spoiled!”

Anyway, as we passed by the dull white building, I was able to catch a quick glimpse of a small group of the older ponies hanging out next to the doorway. Tightening up my muscles, I tried my hardest not to catch another glimpse of them. Pretty much noticed a good amount of intimidation on their faces during the few second glance. I finally got the chance to relax since we were now putting some distance between us and the group. However, something was now amiss. The sound of Quickbrain’s hoofsteps that were paralleled right next to mine were gone! Come to think of it, he wasn’t walking next to me at all!

I immediately turned my attention back to the barracks to fine my pegasus friend facing what was a larger, more intimidating unicorn from the group we just passed. The older pony had a stern look on his face with what looked like blood red, devil eyes trying to pierce Quickbrain’s own, who was staring at the unicorn dead on.

“Hey egghead, watch where you’re going!” barked the unicorn. So that’s what happened. Quickbrain must have accidentally bumped into him. I knew reading a book and walking at the same time wasn’t a good idea.  

Quickbrain didn’t say a peep after the unicorn’s outburst. He just turn around and made his way back towards me. Sure was happy that Quickbrain walked away from both the unicorn and the group. The last thing I needed to worry about was him getting into an ugly fight.  

But that happiness that I had inside of me melted away once Quickbrain came up to me when an orange aura surrounded his crimson red body! Without even blinking, he was immediately and violently yanked off the ground and flung into the side of the barracks, followed by the sound of metal that rang for attention!

With all that had happened so quickly, I focused my attention to Quickbrain, who was still pinned to the dented wall. The orange aura continued to surround the groaning pegasus. Upon opening his eyes, fear began to strike with his breathing rapidly increasing.

When gazing at the pissed off unicorn, I found out why. His face was red right up to his snout, nearly identical to his own eyes. Which, may I add, were burning with anger while his horn glowed like the blazing sun.

 “You dare walk away from me, egghead?” growled the unicorn as he pointed his glowing horn to Quickbrain’s neck.

Quickbrain said nothing. All that fear that was building up in his body was preventing him from breathing. Directly from the sidelines, this was making me freak out inside, almost to the point that I’ve failed to realize that I dropped my friend’s book.

A crowd, which was starting to form around the predator and his prey, wasn’t helping out the situation either! I now started to look around frantically, hoping to find Heavyweight in the crowd. Left and right my head went, but I couldn’t spot the steel, grey pelted earth pony! I turned my attention back to the panicking Quickbrain, who was now face to face with the unicorn. With my heart pounding rapidly while watching this scary scene, I realized what I needed to do…and it wasn’t going to be pretty.

“Perhaps a black eye and a mangled pair of glasses will teach you something called respect,” the unicorn snarled with his horn glowing bright and his smirk growing bigger. But that smirk disappeared and an expression of pain appeared instantly as I used all of my back legs’ strength to buck him in the side of his stomach without him noticing. Surprisingly enough, that buck was able to send the unicorn flying into the forming crowd!

The magical aura that had Quickbrain pinned to the wall vanished after the unicorn landed violently into the crowd. Quickbrain shortly fell flat onto his flank, leaving behind the dent in the wall and less amount of time to put together all that had just happened.

Returning to all four hooves, I turned my attention to the growing, but stunned crowd. What surprised me the most was the left side of the growing mass that contained the dazed unicorn, who was struggling to get back on his hooves. Was that buck really that powerful? My attention was now towards the unplucked Quickbrain, who was just as shocked as the other ponies in the crowd were.

“How the hay did I do that?” I whispered to myself.

But that question took off like a pegasus as I heard growling coming from the crowd. Sure enough, I was facing the unicorn who was stomping out out of the mass of ponies to confront me, his new prey. By the look on his face, he. Was. Pissed.

No pony said a word. What seemed like seconds turned to hours. Suddenly, the unicorn charged straight at me and took a huge leap in an attempt to pounce on me. It was at that point that the silence was broken as the crowd began cheering. The battle was on!

Jumping and dodging all the punches, kicks and bucks this unicorn was throwing at me, I finally counterattacked. In split seconds, my offense turned to defense and vice versa. I was able to lay a few hits on my oversized opponents while he did the same to me. The difference was that the unicorn was beginning to slow down, with his punches, kicks and even bucks becoming sloppy misses. I surprisingly showed no signs of slowing down whatsoever. Maybe it was the uncomfortable heat since the moron’s back was like a waterfall full of sweat. Yet somehow, I had the advantage in the fight!  

With the crowd roaring around us in a circle, the fight continued on until dusk. By then, I wanted to end this little “battle” once and for all. After dodging yet another slow punch, I found the opportunity and took a quick 180 degree spin and gave every strength I had to buck my hind legs straight into his jaw! From there, gravity took over.

With the unicorn now flat on his back in front of me, the sounds of both gasps and murmurs caught my attention. Examining the even larger crowd, I noticed expressions of both shock and disbelief from every single pony. That was when I discovered Quickbrain in the crowd as well...and Heavyweight was there too, standing right next to him! Why didn’t he step in to help out? Probably in the same boat as the other ponies were.

I couldn’t even walk over to them as a dark orange light appeared on my left side. That angry unicorn was once again back on his hooves, displaying his red stained teeth as blood dripped from his mouth. The growling was droned out from the sounds of magic being whipped up from his horn, which was glowing even brighter than it had before. He was putting together an attack spell that even I couldn’t defend or dodge.

My flank was now up against the barrack wall, I was trembling in fear as the unicorn’s magic rapidly increased pace. There was definitely no way out of this, and every inch of my body knew it.

Suddenly, his expression of rage turned to confusion. His eyes began to move from left to right. Wondering why this was happening, I looked in his direction and let out a soft gasp when I discovered Heavyweight and Quickbrain at my side, ready to help!

“Get out of here,” I instructed to my friends while trembling.

“No,” Heavyweight announced, stomping his hoof. “We’re not gonna leave you here!”

“Don’t be foals!” I barked back, “I can’t let you guys get hurt!” Yet Heavyweight didn’t move, neither did Quickbrain, who now looked incredibly brave then he was before.

A flash of light brought my attention to a massive amount of magical energy hurtling towards us at an uncontrollable speed! That dark, orange energy grew brighter and brighter as it came closer and closer! I slammed my eyes shut and prepared for the worse.

Nothing happened. I cautiously opened my eyes. With the vision returning, a soft gasp escaped my mouth once again, leaving my jaw wide open. There was the unicorn, lying right in front of us, completely unconscious. The scorch marks and singed fur covered his body, as smoke rose to the sky from the defeated predator. The huge crowd of ponies who came to watch the fight were all terrified by what they just witness. They were either staring at me or him.

The stares were making me want to get the hay out of there. That was completely out of the question as my eyes were locked on to our Commanding Officer. He was fighting his way through the crowd, but once arriving at the scene, he too looked more shocked than furious…

 ****

Though the pain was great, the fear was worse. Instead of being kicked out of the Academy right on the very spot of my most surprising victory, my friends and I were found standing at the far end of a extremely long hallway. At the end of that particular hallway, was a giant door made out of stained oak. Behind it, was the throne room of the rulers and guardians of Equestria. We were at the Princesses’ Royal Castle!

There we stood, waiting and waiting with tensions growing. After what seemed like hours to me, just scanning the stained glass windows and the dimly lit candles that filled the walls, I finally turned to face Heavyweight. A great amount of pain struck my neck like lightning. Though my wounds were treated before arriving at the Castle, they were beginning to take their toll.

Expecting anger, I could see Heavyweight’s features full of fear; from the wide eyes to the trembling mouth! His huge, muscular body was shaking...I just couldn’t believe it! In all the years I’ve known that pony, I’ve never seen him so terrified. To be honest, I couldn’t blame really, especially with the situation we were all in.

Then, I could see Quickbrain sitting right next to the distressed earth pony. Unlike Heavyweight’s, his eyes were full of guilt, and lots of it. Though the fight wasn’t really his fault, he was even shakier than Heavyweight! He probably felt like he was struggling to carry the huge amount of undeserved blame on his back.

My eyes were now staring at the art-deco windows, just having enough seeing both my friends scared to the bones. But still, why were we here? Was the fight really that bad? Was that unicorn actually…d-dead?. What was going to happen to us? What were the Princesses going to do to us? The suspense was killing me from inside out, I wanted it to go away! I wanted it to go away!

“You may enter now,” said a voice that knocked me back to reality. In front of us was one of the royal guards with his gold armor gleaming, it was armor that we would never wear. The stern look on his face with the ice, blue eyes definitely got us on the move towards the large doors that slowly creaked open.

With the doors opened halfway, I used every strength I had to limp slowly into the throne room. It was a struggling hoof to perform in my condition and was definitely slowing me down. Yet, both Heavyweight and Quickbrain still walked at the same pace by my side as we passed the open doorway. No matter what happened to us, we were in this together, and we would accept our punishment...or fate.

Slowly we walked, or limped in my case, across the huge room to reach both the throne and its occupant that lay on the other side. I didn’t get the opportunity to absorb the sheer beauty of that massive temple as my attention was focused primarily on Princess Celestia herself. With a beautiful white pelt, and a rainbow colored mane and tail that flowed freely and in the windless room, she looked great for being around for so long. Not to mention her height made Heavyweight look like a filly as she towered over us!

At last, we came to a stop, only to face the alicorn ruler dead on. My fears were slowly fading when I noticed a gentle smile on the Princess’ face. Why was she smiling? Did she even know about what happened at the Academy that day?

“Welcome, my ponies,” the Princess said in a calm and soothing voice.

All three of us began to bow immediately in response, though I struggled under the pain.

“Please rise, especially you Golden Star.”

I stood up in shock, annoying the pain that pierced my forelegs. She knew my name?

“You have been through quite a lot today,” she continued in a more caring voice. “I do hope you make a rapid recovery.”

Well, I guess she knew about that little rumble I had after all. Still, why wasn’t she angry about it at all? Now, my fears were replaced with confusion.

“You are all probably wondering why you’ve been brought here before me,” the Princess began in a firm but not a strict tone. “I have been watching you three for a long time now.”

Wait, wait, wait! She’s been watching us? What the hay was that supposed to mean?! Ignoring the pain that would unfold, I turned my head quickly to my right to find both Heavyweight and Quickbrain having the same confused look as I had. I returned my attention to the Princess to hear what else she had to say.

“In light of today’s events, a decision has been made,” she continued, her tone still remained the same. She scanned the three of us, starting with Heavyweight and ending with Quickbrain while finishing her speech, “I, Princess Celestia, eldest sister and Goddess of the Day’s Sun hereby appoint you; Heavyweight, Quickbrain and Golden Star as personal royal guards for Princess Luna, the youngest sister and Goddess of the Night’s Moon.”

The silence swept in, and the throne room became quiet. Not one of us said a single word. All three of us stood very still, slowly turning towards each other as the words sunk in. I finally broke the silence.

“Huh?”

****

“Ow! Take it easy will ya’!” I yelped in pain as Quickbrain began wrapping up my swollen and dark purple, left shoulder.

“If you would stop flinching and squirming like an anxious colt, this wouldn’t be taking longer than expected,” he responded in an annoyed matter. “Now please hold still, I want make sure all of your wounds and injuries are properly treated. Besides, it’s the least I can do after saving me from that obnoxious unicorn. So uncivilized I say!”

It had only been two hours since our meeting with Princess Celestia and we were already back at our barrack planning on what do next. Midnight had since passed as Quickbrain continue to tend to my injuries while letting out an annoyed sigh. Deep down, he probably wished that he was a unicorn during that exact moment.

I gave out a light chuckle, knowing that Quickbrain was back to his old self. After all, all the guilt that was loaded onto his back mentally placed a lot of stress on him. “Hey, that’s what friends are for. We have each other’s back no matter what.”

Quickbrain looked up and smiled in response, then continued on with his work. Even to this very day, I’m still amazed at how strong our friendship has become ever since we were colts. Yet, it’s still growing strong to this very day.

“Still, I’m just glad that unicorn is gonna be alright.”

Heavyweight shrugged, “Oh please, the guy had it coming.” He was relaxing on his bed across from us before tumbling out and walking over to us. “Still, I think we should be thanking Quickbrain here. If he didn’t accidentally bump into that son of a bitch, we wouldn’t be Princess Luna’s personal royal guards!” Judging from the volume increase of his voice, his excitement level must of taken a huge leap upon finishing his sentence.

Quickbrain came to halt from his work, turning his attention towards Heavyweight. “We are not Princess Luna’s personal royal guards, and we won’t be until we get to the bottom of this!” he snapped, glasses nearly falling off his muzzle.

I looked on as I began to remember what happened after Princess Celestia made the announcement. While Heavyweight was willing to take on the job, Quickbrain asked the Princess if she could allow us some time to think about it. Thankfully she agreed on the request, but now it all came down to this. Should we actually do it?

“Oh come on, Quickbrain,” Heavyweight pleaded, “this is a chance we’ve been waiting! Not only to become royal guards, but personal royal guards for Princess Luna herself!” His excitement continued to grow, so did his pleading, “Not only that, but our first assignment is to be presented at this year’s Grand Galloping Gala! The 3G! You said you always wanted to attend it yourself, right?”

“Yes, you are 100% correct for once, Heavyweight,” Quickbrain responded, but in a serious and what we liked to call it, his “scientific” tone. “But it still doesn’t make any sense. Why would Princess Celestia pick three Academy rookies, who barely made it out of an ugly hooves and magic fight might I remind you, to become her sister’s personal guards? This leads to another problem; she never answered that specific question at all.”

He was right. We tried to ask Princess Celestia that same question. The only answer we got from her was that in time, we would know. Looking back on that day, it was just plain weird.

Quickbrain still wasn’t finished, “Here’s another thing I find odd, the absence of Princess Luna. The fact that she didn’t appointed us as her personal guards, let alone wasn’t even present at all is quite puzzling and mysterious to say the least.”

Heavyweight had no other response; he just gave Quickbrain a glaring look of defeat. He hated when Quickbrain tried to put science and reason into something he finds exciting. Quickbrain noticed this immediately and gave out a sigh.

“Heavyweight, I’m terribly sorry that I put a damper on your excitement. It’s just that, with all of this happening in one single day, I believe that we should just slow down and think about what’s best for all of us.”

Once again, no response came from Heavyweight.

I, on the other hoof, began to stare out at the moon that was showing off its beautiful light through our run down window. I was in a trance of deep thought. It didn’t last that long as I found myself back to reality with our room quiet as the throne room. I’ve made a decision.

“Well, I’ve been thinking,” my friends immediately had their attention on me once I broke the silence. “I think I’m taking the Princess’ offer..”

Quickbrain raised an eyebrow. “With the way you’re talking, I highly doubt you properly thought this through.”

“Quickbrain, I understand your concerns. But Heavy’s right,” I turned to Heavyweight, who was beaming from what I just said. I turned back to Quickbrain, raising my voice as I continued, “Over the years, we’ve struggled and suffered through our lives just to achieve a successful future. Times were rough, but we stuck together no matter what the outcome was. This…this is the opportunity we’ve been waiting for. All the hard times together will finally pay off!” I heard sniffing noises from Heavyweight, trying to wipe away the tears.

“That was beautiful.”

Wow, what a day that was turning out to be!

Anyways, I gave him a confident smile and then turned back to Quickbrain, “You think there will be another opportunity for us in the future?”

Quickbrain peered down at the rugged carpet, a long sigh followed. “Well, I highly doubt that the Academy will let us back in. Then again, I’m not up to the idea of coming back here after all this,” he looked up to me, square in the eyes with concern draped over his face. “I’m just not sure I want to take this type of chance.”

“How do you think some of the most famous scientists got to where they are today?” I asked, hoping to make Quickbrain reconsider. “There comes time in a pony’s life were chances must be made. Only difference is that we’ll be in this together.”

Quickbrain continued to stare at me, no doubt about it, he was in a deep thought just like I was. Finally, what seemed like hours, he gave out another long sigh with a grin to follow, “You both are crazy, but you’re my friends. You’re right Golden Star; we stick together no matter what.” He walked up next to Heavyweight with an expression full of confidence.

“Then it’s agreed,” I announced. “On the night of the Grand Galloping Gala, we become personal royal guards for Princess Luna!”

“Here, here!” Quickbrain responded with a bit of excitement.

“ALRIGHT!” Heavyweight cried out with his excitement level rising again. “This is going to be awesome!”

“AH!” Suddenly, pain rumbled through my treated, left shoulder like a fast freight train! Tears were now starting to escape my eyes, though I was able to make out Heavyweight’s right hoof high in the air.

“DAMN IT HEAVY!” I cried out in pain upon realizing the idiot shoulder punched me.

Heavyweight’s excitement level dropped once he was back on all four hooves. A sheepish smile suddenly appeared on his face, “Oops, sorry Goldy.”

“Son of a…”

I didn’t say anything else after that. I just gave him a “heavy” glare as I clutched my throbbing shoulder. At least the worst ended quickly.

“Wait right there,” said Quickbrain while making his way toward our small, beaten up refrigerator. “I’ll get an ice pack.”

My glare of Heavyweight disappeared as I gave Quickbrain a simple nod as a sign of thanks.

I returned my attention back to Heavyweight, who was now walking back to his bed. He was smiling from ear to ear about actually becoming a personal royal guard. Plopping onto the bed, he turned to me with what was now a somewhat concerned look on his face. “You know, it’s weird,” he began. “You really took a beating from that unicorn, yet you were able to hold your own, hay, even out bested him! Tell me, have you been working out lately?”

I shook my head lightly, “No. Even I don’t know how I did that.”

“That’s weird. Did you know how you were able to come up with that attack spell or something like that then?”

“Attack spell?!” I asked, nearly falling off my bed. “What attack spell?!”

“The same one that came out of your horn that finished off that unicorn,” Heavyweight answered. By the look on his face and sound of his tone, he was becoming even more concerned. “It almost looked like the same type of spell he was going to use on us, but yours was way more powerful. I didn’t know you had it in you.”

“Neither did I,” I answered. “You know I’m not that good with magic, Heavy. The only spell I know and perfected is telekinesis. It’s a simple spell, but that’s it. Nothing else.” I looked over to Quickbrain, who had the ice pack under his right wing. He too had the same look of concern as both Heavyweight and I had. Once again, the room was quite.

Heavyweight, revealing a light smile, slowly crawled off his bed and walked over to me. Standing right in front of me, he gently rested his right hoof on my left shoulder. Since the smile was still there, I realized that this was one of those big brother little brother moments that we’ve always had in the past. True, Heavyweight can be arrogant most of the time, but he treated both me and Quickbrain well, as if we were brothers, “Guess you don’t know your own strength, huh?”

I continued to stare into his eyes. Somehow, they were able to produce a small, yet confident grin on my face with a small and gentle nod to finish off. Of all that had happened, what with the fight and being appointed as a guard for Princess Luna, that single day had become incredibly weird. But little did I knew that the upcoming week was going to get even weirder...especially when it came to attending the Grand Galloping Gala.

****

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (C) Hasbro and Lauren Faust  

Characters and setting from Moonlight Over Midnight (C) EsperDerek