After Applejack and Rarity's visit I had another check up with the doctor. Thankfully he had decided that I recovered enough to be discharged, that suited me just fine as I never exactly enjoyed being cooped up. Unfortunately it wasn't until the evening I was discharged. I was absolutely starving by the time I left, it seems that all hospital food no matter the world tastes like shit.

Selecting my new clothes I raise them up in order to inspect them. Rarity had managed to make me a basic white T-shirt along with a pair of tan trousers which I had no idea what they made of, but it seemed to be made from a fairly sturdy material. She even managed to make me some black socks and pants, the socks were a bit long likely due to her views regarding them but I was able to easily roll them over to keep them low.

Opening the door I'm promptly met by the two guards, both shifting to attention at my presence. One was a grey Pegasus male where as the other was a White coated Unicorn mare. Do they only select certain coloured Ponies to be royal guards? My eye raised I scrutinise their discipline, the male seems to be doing an admirable job at staring forward, the mares eyes however occasionally shift back and forth from the wall and myself. Rather than the traditional spear I've seen all other guards with, the male is armed with a sword which is sheathed against the left side of his armour.

"Alright then, let's get these introductions out of the way then. I take it you both already have been told who I am from the Princess?"

The mare is first to respond. "Yes, Sir. We have bee-"

Raising my hand I cut her off "Don't call me Sir, I'm not your superior officer. Never have been one for formalities."

The males deep voice cuts in. "We have our orders from Princess Luna, Sir. I am Sergeant Night Chaser, my colleague is Corporal Sunny Shield."

"Right. So Chaser and Sunny, odd names but then again all names here seem rather daft." Both give a small scowl as they move from their position to face down the lengthy corridor towards the exit.

"Sir, we should make our way to the library. Princess Luna requested that you spend all nights there until further notice, nightfall will be over us in the next few hours."

Gesturing towards the corridor I begin following through the narrow passage. "Lead on then."

With a firm nod from Chaser he takes the lead, Sunny is following at a steady pace behind me. We soon make our exit from the hospital and are proceeding through the centre of town towards Twilight's library. Rather than the odd stare and murmur everyone seems to be actively rushing away from me, entering numerous buildings and closing the shutters. I figure being in the paper as a violent creature and having two guards shadow me isn't a great way to show that I'm no harm.

We continue on the walk when Sunny steps alongside me and looks up to me. "Sir, permission to speak freely."

Waving my hand I to tell her to continue. I then realise that they likely have no concept of the meaning of the expression. "Shoot."

"I heard about the weapon you had at the trial. If it's possible I would be grateful if you'd let me study it, Sir." She wants to examine my rifle? Fuck that.

"Absolutely not. No one is taking possession of my weapons to study them, It's too far ahead of your technology." Her eyes manoeuvre to the floor, her ears slightly drooping.

Chaser releases a small scoff. "It can't be that impressive. I've heard the Griffins had developed a weapon decades ago, similar to yours which propels a bolt which can pierce armour."

"A Crossbow?" He just shrugs. "That's centuries old in my world. The bolt has limited range and is only a single shot. My weapon can fire off thirty rounds which are capable of piercing various materials and piercing flesh and organs, heck it can even go clean through a body."

Sunny perks up again, curiosity filling her voice. "Your technology sounds so intriguing. You were an engineer, Sir? I believe that's what the Princess said."

"I am still an engineer. I know you two are guards, but do you have specialised roles?" Glancing to the sky the sun is slowly setting, a orange radiance canvases the tops of the houses.

"I've been trained in defensive magic, my talent is conjuring multiple shields which can resist blunt force trauma. I've also been tinkering with armour designs, Sir." Guess that explains why she wants to examine my weapons, if they don't trust me they're likely gonna try and find something to defend themselves from me.

"Chaser? What about you?" He releases a irritated growl.

"I've always had a good night eye. In training I far surpassed the others in stealth and observations in conditions with poor visibility, Sir."

Nodding to myself I scan the horizon, the top of Twilight's home soon comes into focus. As we approach everyone who was outside has made their way away from us. The two guards had now stopped talking as they shifted gradually into a position on either side of me. Soon we will be back inside and I can get something to eat, I am absolutely starving.

After the momentary silence I decide to speak out. "I have a question. How come all the guards have the same coloured coats and manes?"

Sunny taps a hoof to the gem on her breastplate. "Enchantments, Sir. All royal guards have enchanted armour which changes the colour dependant on our natural coats. Those with a darker coat appear to be grey where as those with lighter coats are perceived to be white. The enchantment also allows us to see through it in order to be able to identify other guards. The only royal guards who don't have their appearance altered are senior officers."

"So what? It's kinda like your uniform?"

"I suppose if you want to look at it that way, yes it is, Sir." During her explanation we arrived back at the library, all the lights are out showing nothing but a blanket of darkness through the windows.

Chaser positions himself closer to a window and peers through the glass. "There are ponies inside."

I try to look over his shoulder but fail to see anything. "How can you tell? I can't see shit."

"Night eye. As I said earlier." -Rolling his eyes Chaser steps to the door and halts alongside it- "After you, Sir."

Clutching the handle I open the door and wave for the two guards to enter, once they make their way inside I follow behind them closing the door. Now standing in complete darkness I hear a faint rustling before all the lights turn on simultaneously.

"SURPRISE!" All six call out. We don't even move or react to the display in front of us, having someone notice a surprise kinda kills it.

Pinkie bounces over the top of me, the tip of her tail clipping the top of my head yet somehow manages to place a party hat atop my head.

"Were you surprised, Johnny? Everypony always loves my surprises." A wide smile curls up on her face as she trots past me back to the group of friends.

"Well I would have been if it wasn't for a certain guard." Chaser just takes a quick glance at me.

"Well then, that means I will just have to try harder to surprise you for your next party." Taking hold of the hat, I remove it from my head and place it on top of Sunny's helmet. The other girls go back to talking to one another finishing their earlier conversations. Chaser just shrugs and makes his way to the base of the stairs, finding himself a new position to guard.

Looking down to Sunny, I nudge her with my elbow. "You gonna be a buzzkill like your Sergeant?"

"Sir?" -She quickly glances from Chaser to me - "I still have orders."

"Didn't Luna say that I was training you?" She nods in response. "First rule then, whenever you have an opportunity to relax with your squad, you take it. You never know if this will be the last time you see them or not, so live it up while you can. Consider this an opportunity to get to know each other better. Oh, and get rid of that armour."

She lowers her head in contemplation, before long she's looking back up to me. "Yes, Sir" I raise my eyebrow at her. "Um... I mean, John?" Nodding to her she steals a glance to Chaser who is looking towards us.

She removes her helmet and places it on a nearby table. Once she removes her breastplate the enchantments effects fade, and that's when I am able to see what she actually looks like. Her coat is a pale yellow with a mane of fire red which contains a blood red streak running through, her mane is lightly ruffled yet falls on her left reaching down to the front of her chest. Her cutie mark consisting of a white shield with a sun overlapping. When her eyes fix on mine I can see a beautiful shade of turquoise.

When my attention returns to the others I notice Rainbow Dash flying towards me, a bottle held in her hoof. Landing before me she looks between myself and Sunny.

"Hey, John." Rainbow says. "Who's the guard?"

Raising my hand I point to both guards. "This is Sunny Shield and buzzkillington over there is Night Chaser." Rainbow and Sunny give each other a small greeting, across the room I notice Chasers gaze fixated on Rainbow.

"Oh. Before I forget, here's that drink I owe you," Rainbow says, holding the bottle out for me. Grasping it I raise the bottle to inspect it, single-malt and aged twenty years, not a bad choice. "I don't see why you wanted it though. I never have been a fan of the stuff myself."

"Neither Have I," Unscrewing the cap I bring the rim to my nostril and inhale the contents. Both the girls in front look to me with confusion on their faces.

"John?" Sunny asks, "If you don't like it then why in Equestria would you request it?"

"It's a tradition me and Williams started after our first tour. When we got home we were given a bottle of whisky when out at the pub, the landlord was a veteran and often gave freebies to returning soldiers. My squad and I shared the bottle until it was all gone, we had a good night on that one bottle. Ever since that night we decided we would all share a bottle every time we returned from tour." Bringing the bottle to my lips I tilt my head back taking a gulp, the warm liquid burns slightly as it runs down my throat, a slight taste of apples lingering on my tongue.

"Your first tour?" -Sunny levitates the bottle from my grasp in a orange aura- "You're a veteran? We were never informed that you had seen combat. How many times had you been deployed on tour?"

"Four times. Northern Ireland on peace-time garrison, and three times in Afghanistan in a combat role." Twisting my palms I present them to Sunny showing her the burn scars. She grimaces at the sight, sadness clearly evident in her large eyes. "Now drink up, since the rest of my squad ain't here everyone here is going to help me finish the bottle tonight."

Sunny takes a quick swig of the bottle, her face immediately scrunches up. After she swallows the last of the liquid she sticks her tongue out, a disgusted groan escaping her lips. Rainbow and myself can't help but laugh at her reaction. God that looked cute when she did that.

Reclaiming my bottle I lightly press my hand against the back of Sunny's neck and push he lightly towards the other girls. "Now then, time for your first order. Meet the others as we are likely gonna be spending a fair bit of time with them all. Once that's done convince Night Chaser to get that stick out of his arse and relax for the night. I'm gonna expect everyone to help me with this drink."

Taking the hint she makes her way to the others and starts to talk to them, introductions being shared between the group. Checking back on Rainbow I realise that she seems to be awfully fixated on Sunny, a knowing smirk spreads across my face. "Something catch your eye?"

"What? No!" Rainbow blurts out, "I mean, she's pretty cool I guess." Rainbow quickly turns away from me and makes her way towards the rest of her friends, I can't help but notice the rosy colour her cheeks are turning.

Scanning the room there is a selection of tables set round the centre, holding various foods and drinks. With my stomach growling at me I move towards the food table filled with a wide variety of treats, cakes, pies, fritters, cookies, sandwiches and a selection of fruits. Deciding to go for something sweet I grab a few chocolate chipped cookies and a slice of cake. Biting into the cookie my mouth is immediately overwhelmed with sweetness and flavour. Holy shits that's good.

"Howdy, John." Swivelling from my position I face Applejack, a tankard of cider in her hoof. "Glad to see you up and movin' again."

Swallowing my mouthful of food I smile to her, "Hey, Applejack. How did your 'daring pony' contest with Rainbow go?"

"It went pretty swell at first, but after a while we had to find somethin' to break the tie. We tried your idea but we couldn't do it fully." -Pausing she takes a mouthful of her drink- "After a while we went to the old castle near to where we found you. We found the others there and on our way back, Pinkie said that she'd throw her party for you when you got out of the hospital."

"I imagine she has some order of games she wants to play?" Applejack nods, confirming my suspicion. "Well I need all your help with this drink, so tell Pinkie I know a game where we can do both."

"Sure thing, Sugarcube." Applejack makes her way back to the others to tell them my plan. I haven't played this game in ages, but with a few drinks it will be good for shits 'n' giggles.

This ought to be fun.