After two hours straight of flying, At a pace most would think of as a sprint, Red finally reached Canterlot, more specifically the front gates of the royal castle, As he landed on the steps of the palace he thought. {well this is so gonna end up in disaster, only question is when's it gonna hit, before or after I'm treating the princesses} Shaking of that last thought. He quickly trotted over to where sergeant Kill Joy was waiting for him

"It is great to finally see you Red Cross, the princess is waiting for you in her chambers." said Kill Joy as he jumped up and led Red inside. Completely oblivious to the slight reluctant look in Red's eye's. As he belatedly followed the Sergeant in front of him.

            As they walked through the halls to go meet the princess they were stopped by...know what how about we show you a pic instead? yeah that so makes my job easier so here we go

and that is the pony we meet named Merthyr. who if you paid attention was mentioned in the prologue as the one who. And i quote. '...and my second Merthyr swears on his religious beliefs that you are the...' Remember? well than let's see who this pony is shall we? Now back to the story

            "Red! old friend how's it been!" Yelled out the blue earth pony walking towards them "How's your mom been?"

            "Ha, We've been doing good dude, It's nice seeing you again Gear." Chuckled Red using his old friends nickname "So how's it been between you and Spark." Using his friends pet name for his marefriend. {man he looks taller, and he still wears cloths? Man I'd have thought he'd stop doing that by now.}

            "Yeah we've been good. Though I don't think you can call me gear anymore. I made a book and called it 'Gear Theory's. The thoughts of a philosopher.' The books sold so many copy's it's not even funny anymore .Though I wrote it under the pen name Gear so I haven't been swamped by fans yet." He chuckled out. "It made so much money i can finally start a savings fund for the house. And start it of pretty darn good. Hell if i can keep up with work I might be finally able to put a down payment on a house in a year or two and finally start providing for scoots like a true dad!"

            I was shocked to say the least. Merthyr had taken on Scootaloo when she was a just born foal, being the closes blood relation since his sister died in childbirth and her husband committed suicide soon after her death, And he had raised her as his own. Though of course guards don't make that much, In fact his book accelerated his schedule by at least three to four years, and since birth Scootaloo had been staying with her step uncle in Ponyville while Merthyr saved up enough money for a house. And while they were still very close the thought that Merthyr could finally have Scootaloo live with him. Just made Red smile. he couldn't help it. finally his friends dream would come true. And obviously he would most likely talk to Twilight about going public afterwards since he could finaly feel confident in himself. well to say the least Red knew that life was looking pretty good from his friends perspective.

"Dude...I have one thing to say to that." He said in a calm tone knowing how his friend would react.

"All I have to say is...CONGRATULATIONS!!!" Seeing a flash of relief and happiness spreading across his friends face he smirked knowing that Merthyr was probably ecstatic that his best friend was so happy for him.

{And he probably knows where my train of thought brought me. He always did seem to know almost exactly what i was thinking}

            "Thanks dude. It's great to see you again. I can't believe so much happened in only 3 months. My schedule shot ahead four years, Me and Twi have never been better, And to top it of my best friend is with me again! Hey you want to go get something to eat? I found the best place ever not to far away and guess what? they have coffee!"

"urhmm" Interjected Kill Joy who till this moment had been standing silently off to the side

"Merthyr Mr.Red Cross has yet to see the princess yet. Your plans will have to wait for now while he attends to the princess."

            "Oh! Sorry sir! I had believed he had already seen to the princess and that you were simply showing him out so he wouldn't get lost. Please excuse me." Replied Merthyr

"I'll talk to you later Red. I want to know everything that's happened to you and scootaloo. I'll be at the barracks if you need me." And with that he snapped of a quick salute to Kill Joy and left.

"Follow me then." Said Kill Joy as he walked off with a silent Red Cross behind him.

If he had the curiosity to look back him he would see that a steady look of pure, unwavering, determination to do the task at hand had replaced the look of fear and reluctance in Red's eyes.

*45 minutes later*

            After the regular checkup it came time for the shots. Though she was a goddess she dreaded the pain of shots. {You and me both, these things scare the crap outta me!} But Red was more delicate and quick than any other doctor or nurse she had ever met. She never felt a thing! As she turned to him and spoke for the first time though out the checkup he could see a slight glimmer of surprise and passably. Was that a bit of curiosity in her eyes? It’s almost as though she’s looking me over? {Nah that's impossible, it must be the light. That's got to be it...Right? yeah… It's just the light. You're just being paranoid again. Calm down}

"How did you do that without causing any pain?" She questioned, either indifferent to or unaware of his temporary mental argument.

            Red looked back smiling a little "It’s just natural talent Miss. Well that and practice. You'd be surprised how many pony's get nervous around needles." He chuckled a bit

"In fact I don't think I've met more than three pony's who seemed indifferent to them. And trust me when I say I most certainly am not one of those three."

            Celestia chuckled at this. "Well at least we have something besides our ridiculous height that makes us similar"

They both chuckled at this and as Red turned to leave Celestia suddenly said something that shocked him to his core.

“You know if you want a job among the royal guards recently opened up. It was the medic position and very few doctors are willing to join the guard. But the job pays well if you're interested?" She asked

            Red was shocked to say the least. "I'll… I’ll think about it Princesses. Thank you for the offer but I'll need some time to mull it over." He said in an apathetic tone trying to keep his cool.

"Oh! Do not worry. I expected you to want to think it over. I would never accept a response right away," Celestia tried to console him, "Please stay the night and sleep it over. Charles here will show you to a guest room." As she said this, a unicorn stallion of average height and build walked in. He was wearing a tux and holding himself in a dignified pose that while a bit snobbish did not seem to make him appear to think of you as a lesser pony.

            "You called Madame?" He inquired

            "Yes Charles. Please show Red Cross to a guest room he is to stay here for the night." Said Celestia

            "Yes Madame," replied Charles ",come along now, Off we go." Charles said to Red before turning around and walking away.  This left Red with no choice but to follow after the butler.

*one long and fairly monotonous tour of the castle later*

            "And here is your room Mr. Cross" said Charles showing Red into an extremly large and overly extravagant room.

"If you require help I'm in the third room down on the left now goodnight."

{Well this is...Unexpected to say the least. Me, a royal guard… it sounds nice, I guess. But then, what will happen in Ponyville?  I have so much there, how could I leave that? Fixing up Rainbow Dash every other week or so, Pinkie Pie's insane party's, and Rarity even made my cloths as originals. There were no other copy’s outside what she's made for me. Though there are some good points. No more Fluttershy glaring at me every time we see each other, I mean like come on! It was over a year ago and it wasn't even my fault! But there's also Applejack, and she's been like a sister to me for years. Then of course there's Mom! I mean could I really leave her and all my friends for this? But this is a once in a lifetime opportunity! How could I ever face my friends and family if I didn't take it?...You know what, I'm going to take a walk, maybe it'll help me decide.}

And with that he walked off. After a while he ended up in the royal gardens. The night air provided a nice calming effect on his nerves.

            As he sat on the edge of a pond contemplating all that had happened. And all that could happen. He realized with a start he wasn't alone as he looked up he saw Celestia talking with some purple unicorn across the water.

"Is that who I think it is?" he said as he peered across the water and the unicorn came into focus.

"It is! That's got to be Twilight! She can't be anyone else she fits Merthyr's description to well." suddenly Red had an epiphany. Red remembered the one thing he had left out of his contemplating. His best friend was a guard as well, Who has been as close as a brother almost, The one who moved away years ago and only visited ocasionally. If he were to take up the position he could finally hang out with his friend like the good old days. And with that thought, the scales were tipped and Red Cross had his decision.

            He was going to become a guard. And as he walked back to his room he said something that only four pony’s would ever realize the true meaning of. Me the writer. You the reader. Red himself. And of course a princess who did not see him across the pond and decided to ask him what was wrong. Only to hear him say something that would of course, stop her in her tracks.

"Well" Red said to himself. "Let's give this a shot then! what's the worse could happen."

And with that he sped up leaving the princesses who of course was not there as we all know. And who we all know was not wearing a bigger smile than even Pinkie Pie could do.

Red Cross made a decision that would forever change not only his life, but most likely the lives of every Equestrian to ever live from here on and out. Or maybe his decision won’t effect so many pony’s.

Who knows?

Oh yeah I do, but that’s for me to know and you to figure out. Now let’s see how it effects him eh? So read on good sir or Madame. And hear a tale like no other. For no tale is the same as another. But where as other tales may be similar to one another. No tale is quite like this tale.

The tale of Red Cross. Who would not fear the future because. His path was now clear so he shall not fear. Next Chapter: The Game of Life, Your Move? Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 18 Minutes