[RGRE] (short) Guard's Life


                                            >>34784779

                                            >You are Lieutenant  Noble Cause.

                                            >You volunteered for guard duty again today.

                                            >Your superior officer was surprised the first few times you volunteered for extra work, but she stopped being surprised after a few weeks.

                                            >If there's an extra shift to take, you usually go for it.

                                            >Your one true cause is the defense of others, and it's a duty you take very seriously.

                                            >Shining Armour is an inspiration to you and to all guard-colts everywhere, and you have a poster of him in your personal quarters.

                                            >[spoiler]On the ceiling right above your bed.[/spoiler]

                                            >It's not gay, though.

                                            >You just want to see the representation of who you are and what you should aspire to when you wake up and when you go to bed at night.

                                            >It's a reminder that you're just as good as a mare, no matter what society tells you.

                                            >That even a lowly Lieutenant like you can make a difference, if he just tries hard enough.

                                            >Today is Hearts and Hooves day.

                                            >You almost forgot.

                                            >But just because ponies are out there enjoying each other on this holiday, doesn't mean that evil will take the day off.

                                            >So, like you said; you volunteered for guard duty.

                                            >You overheard some of the other guard-colts talking about their plans.

                                            >They've long since booked the day off, and they're all going to do something suitably romantic and mushy and it's going to be the only thing they talk about for WEEKS.

                                            >You know you're an odd colt.

                                            >You never really liked that colty stuff.

                                            >You took after your mom more than you took after your dad.

                                            >You were always roughhousing with the fillies when you were a colt, and you hated hanging out with the other colts.

                                            >You'd call yourself a janefilly, but you're too boring for that.

                                            >Janefillies hang out with their female friends and they're just one of the gals, but you don't really have that many friends outisde the guard to speak of.

                                            >You kind of put ponies off, and you don't really meet the sort of expectations that mares are looking for.

                                            >And you're okay with that.

                                            >Despite what a shameful part of you secretly hoped for, you didn't expect a mare to ask you out for a date on Hearts and Hooves day, so you didn't bother booking it off.

                                            >Despite knowing full well that you wouldn't find any notes from a 'secret admirer' slipped into your locker, or maybe a bouquet of flowers waiting for you outside your sleeping quarters, you still felt antsy about today.

                                            >You hate how disappointed you felt when you reached your post, and it was just another day for you.

                                            >And so here you are, standing guard on the look out for ne'er-do-wells.

                                            >You don't move an inch as pairs and groups of special someponies walk around, playfully chasing and nuzzling each other.

                                            >Morning turns to day.

                                            >Day turns to evening.

                                            >You don't normally feel lonely, but on a day that's meant to celebrate together-ness, you can't help but feel extra-alone right now.

                                            >It's silly...

                                            >Maybe it's the purely stallion part of you that dad encouraged; probably the one colty thing he managed to bring out in you.

                                            >But deep down, you sort of hoped that maybe there was a mare out there for you, and today would be the day she acted on her feelings for you.

                                            >It's stupid.

                                            >It's embarrassing.

                                            >It's downright foalish.

                                            >It's not happening, but you can't help but feel disappointment creeping up your chest, making you blush with shame.

                                            >Just a dumb colt's fantasy.

                                            >Look at you: a Lieutenant who fantasizes about his knight in shining armour to sweep him off his hooves.

                                            >As soon as your shift is over, you're going to go home and crack open a cold cider.

                                            >Then, you're going to think about your patrol duty for tomorr-

                                            >"Noble Cause?"

                                            >Your ears perk up, and your head snaps back up into proper position.

                                            >You didn't even realize you had let it droop.

                                            >Your long-time partner and good friend, Brazen Shield, is flying towards you.

                                            >And in her mouth is a-

                                            >?!?!?

                                            >You feel a blush spread on your cheeks, but it's not out of shame.

                                            >In Brazen Shield's mouth is a rose.

                                            >This can't be for you.

                                            >You feel hope and disbelief wage war against each other.

                                            >Disbelief is backed by experience and a cold sense of realism.

                                            >But Hope has your own stupid nativity fueling it, and that's a damn powerful force.

                                            >You settle on "cautiously optimistic" and leave it at that.

                                            >Like any pony who regularly has to manipulate her environment with her mouth, she's learned to talk around the rose caught between her lips.

                                            >"Your shift ended half an hour ago.  I was wondering if you wanted to maybe..."

                                            >Now, you're not the only pony who's blushing.

                                            >"...go get something to eat?  It's late, so there's bound to be a few restaurants that will have a table for two open."

                                            >You are Noble Cause, and you are a guard.

                                            >You've spent hours being trained not to react, even if a foal is jumping in your face specifically to get a reaction.

                                            >But even now, you can't do anything to stop the shy smile that's worming its way across your lips.

                                            "I.... I'd like that."

                                            >Maybe not being so colty isn't a death sentence for your love life after all.