Chapter 7: Guardian

Shining Armor is, indeed, stuck there for quite some time. But sooner or later, with the sun declining below the horizon, Shining Armor is able to convince the young filly to head out; With how close their family estate is to the palace, the siblings can head home over the weekends.

On her way out, Twilight catches sight of Rainbow Dash flying around over the castle. I feel a little bad for her. She doesn’t get to see home at all. But one more thought of the library in the castle dispels that feeling of sympathy; Maybe she should envy the pegasus, instead, given she’d have the opportunity to be surrounded by those glorious books every single weekend.

As soon as the two ponies open the gate, they are greeted with a flood of pony faces; there’s no particular event, but the castle itself is practically always the recipient of tourists hoping to catch a view of the Princess of the Sun. But apparently, the Princesses new student also catches a decent amount of attention, because as soon as they catch sight of her, a number of ponies point their hooves and chatter excitedly to one another or snap photos of Twilight and the little dragon on her back.

Twilight flinches in surprise. Somehow, it had never occurred to her that her new status would make her a local celebrity. She doesn’t have time to think about it much, though, as a couple of newsponies quickly cram themselves into the fillies face. “Twilight Sparkle! As the princesses new student, many Equestrians are curious about life in the royal palace! Would you care for an interview?” The first pony asks, microphone in hoof.

“I-I ... Um...” Twilight stammers out, starting to shake as her gaze darts this way and that at the throng of ponies.

Stomping a hoof on the ground, Shining Armor growls as he stands up to his full height, levering a derisive glare the newscasters way. “As a Royal Guard, I speak with the authority of the princess when I say... Back off. Twilight Sparkle is not to be harassed or harangued on her way home.” That buys the pair of siblings a little more room as the newcasters are momentarily taken aback, enough for Shining Armor to shoulder his way through the crowd, dragging Twilight along with him.

“Hey, Shiny? Aren’t you just a cadet...? I don’t think you actually have the authority to say any of that...” Twilight asks, doubtfully, as the pair quickly trot their way past the touristy crow near the front.

Shining Armor just glances back at Twilight and winks. “Sure, but they don’t need to know that.” He smirks playfully, before raising a hoof and knocking on the door of their home. It isn’t far from the castle, as the traditional estates of the nobility are on the upper platforms of Canterlot, separate from the riff-raff.

The families estate is modest by the standards of nobility; Four bedrooms, three bathrooms, a few hundred square meters. But what is there is still much more well maintained and crafted than average equestrian architecture, even for Canterlot. The front door, an arched specimen made of seasoned oak wood with patterns carved into its surface, swings open revealing the siblings’ father, Night Light.

“You’re back! So, how did your first couple days as the princesses newest student go?” Night Light asks, stepping aside to let the two ponies enter the room.

“Actually, I’m not their newest student anymore.” Twilight states, not considering the implications of that statement. Shining Armor strolls in and flops down on the couch, stretching out, while Night Light looks taken aback.

“What?” Night Light quickly exchanges a look with Twilight Velvet behind him, alarmed. “Surely they wouldn’t just drop you for no reason? What happened?”

“Huh?” Twilight looks confused, before the filly connects the dots of how her father had misunderstood her. “Oh, no! I didn’t mean that I’m not their student anymore. I just meant that they got another new student after me.”

Night Light raises his brow in confusion. “What? Really? They took in another unicorn?” He only remembers Celestia ever taking in another student once before, and that was years ago. But now there are two in the space of a week?

Twilight shakes her head, hopping up to the kitchen table. “Oh, no. She’s a pegasus from Cloudsdale, named Rainbow Dash. Do you remember the rainbow surge that gave me the power to hatch Spike?” Twilight asks, absently stroking the little dragon’s spines while she speaks. “That was her, apparently! Oh, I’d love to study how she did that ... I’ll need to get her to do it again, sometime.”

Night Light exchanges a worried look with Shining Armor, lowering his voice. “You mean ... Celestia’s new student not only isn’t a unicorn, but is a commoner?”

Twilight blinks at him, cocking her head to the side. “Um, I guess so. What does that have to do with anything, though?”

“It sets a worrying precedent. I’m sure that there will be push-back from the other noble families, too.” Night Light frowns, shaking his head. “Just what could the princess be thinking...”