After their trials, Arin, Ice Lance, and Vapor Cloud were rushed through dozens of compressed courses on being an actual Elite Guard. Arin learned many things; how to see without looking, for one, which taught him how to note the characteristics and movement of an individual without directly focusing on them. He learned about identifying sniper positions, and how to draw intent just from looking at a face.

He learned take down maneuvers that would work on even Unicorns, stumping their magic while also pinning them down. Shining also described how to temporarily stun a pony, with a very hard, quick jab to the snout. He called it the tactical boop, which was an absolutely terrible, yet memorable name.

In the mornings before these classes, he would study hard with Honey Rose, who rarely got to see him anymore. She was a bit irked about being made to stay in the castle – but being pampered and treated like royalty by the staff made up for it. Additionally, it meant she could tease her favorite ‘patient’, often times dragging him out of bed to toss him in the bathtub to start his mornings off right.

She often had to help him through his study, as some words were a little much for his young knowledge of the language. Arin had to learn a year’s worth of Royal Guard training before graduation, just so he could understand tactical formations and calls for movement on the fly. Part of being trained as a Guard was knowing a call, and where he would stand in that call, if he needed to join it. And even after the official knighting Ceremony – he was going to be assigned literal homework. Studying just to catch up to Shining in some way, under his written guidance from the Crystal Empire.

On top of that, he had little time to meet with Celestia or Luna during these days. Celestia’s schedule was topheavy, and most of his training took place from noon until supper time, where he had to go back to his room and study. Ice Lance and Vapor Wave would occasionally stop by his room, quills and inkpots ready, to study as well. Simply because the barracks were a bit too rowdy as it was. But every spare moment he could spare, went to Luna. Luna Luna Luna. She apparently needed him like a foal needs a plushie!

Thankfully, there wasn’t a final exam. The courses themselves were simply too thorough, and the job too dire, to really require it. Shining Armor was the exam, and studying under him was to be constantly scrutinized on your memory of every subject in his book, and his book included dozens of years of Guarding, Guard Captain, and Prince of an Empire.

At one point, Arin was pretty sure he had to drill out his ability to walk properly to retain everything Shining wanted to stuff in his head.

And it didn’t help that his Sister, Princess Twilight, sat in the class – eyeing the potential recruits curiously, while taking every note she could into her own book.

Why was she studying this? Didn’t she have anything else better to do?

At the close of the first month, Arin stayed behind after class to read over a particularly fruitful chapter on vantage points and stealth. He was standing by the book shelf in the small office, reading quietly to himself.

Lowering the book, he found a pair of purple eyes staring up at him from behind the paperback.

“Oh, uh… hi Princess Twilight.” He said, a bit shocked from the sudden appearance of the purple Alicorn. Twilight smiled.

“Hello Arin! I had some questions I’ve been meaning to ask you.” She held that smile, directing him to take a seat on one of the few pillows around the room. Of course Canterlot didn’t have a proper classroom – it was Shining’s old office, before he moved to the Crystal Empire.

“Uh… sure.” Flopping into the red cushion, he set the book on his side, leaning forward with his arms for support to give her attention.

“Right! Alright, first, I want to know what are you, exactly. You look like a homo sapian, though you lack Anon’s distinct vocal pattern and knowledge on Earth’s events, from what I gather.” Twilight said, withdrawing her notebook from her satchel on her side. A quill appeared, and she opened to a fresh page.

“…The hell is an Anon? Or a homo whatsit? I’m a Seraph – Lower Class, Inert from my world of Erenorn.” He said in reply.

“Great! Now you said you’re Inert, do you mind going over that for me? I want to know what that means to you.” Her scribbling continued. If she had a pair of glasses, he might consider some type of pony-therapist.

Arin frowned, twiddling his thumbs as he thought.

“An Inert from my world is a being who shows no inherit signs of magic. They can not cast spells willingly, though some may channel magic into crafting to create unique trinkets. I am a Lower Class civilian Inert – this means that I am considered below an Ascended, and I lack all magic to distinguish my value. And being a Lower Class Inert means I’m completely free of magic, at least, that’s what I’m classified as on Erenorn.”

“I see… Now Arin, why are you lying to me?”

“Uh… I am?” Arin couldn’t help but blink at the accusation. He didn’t even know he was lying. Was he? Did he slip up and say something wrong?

“You say you lack magic, correct? Yet I can sense it within you. It’s there – and I know magic, I’m the Princess of Magic. What I want to know is, why are you trying to hide that from me?”

“I’m not hiding anything? Both Celestia and Luna say I have magic inside of me, I’m just telling you my history. I was classified as Inert on my world. They don’t have this… magic detection spell you all keep casting on me at random. At best we’ve got sages that can detect magical auras on powerful Seraphs.” Arin clutched his book in worry. She wasn’t going to do something to him in this room, was she?

“I see. Well then, I guess that settles it. I will need to study you further, for the magic of science, of course. You will be my Knight, once I convince Luna that it’s proper, of course.” She said with a smile, leaving Arin bewildered.

“Excuse me?” He said, bolting upright.

“I am choosing you to be my Personal Guard. Which means you’ll be staying with me in Ponyville. It will give me plenty of time to study you and your magic, and figure out exactly what makes you tick. You’re an anomaly; more so than Anonymous, and I plan to remedy that. I’ll talk with my brother and have it arranged, pack your things for the trip, Arin.”

Her horn flared with a brilliant flash of magic, leaving him absolutely flabbergasted as she vanished in an instant. A pit of worry formed in his stomach, clutching the book hard in his grasp. He bolted upright, as if looking for her only to remember a critical rule he learned about Unicorns; they could teleport.

Dashing out of the room, he made his way north – he was on the East Wing, second floor, and he needed to get to the dining hall quickly. He didn’t agree to this, and Luna wouldn’t either. In fact, he was actually quite terrified of a potential change of hooves. He didn’t like the thought of being sent away out of his comfort zone, to a strange, studious loner alicorn. Sliding around a corner, he just barely avoided a roaming maid – giving her a mini heart attack as he sprinted for the main hall. He approached the throne room, swinging hard to the left.

He practically jumped down the flight of stairs, getting a few wild stares from Guards along the way. Landing keenly on his toes, he darted toward the East wing on his right – slipping into the dining hall quietly. He didn’t want to draw too much attention to himself, though the task was easier with Celestia fighting Pinkie Pie for a piece of cake.

“I told you, Pinkie, I must check it to see if it’s poisoned!”

“That doesn’t make sense and you know it, Princess! I want to get poisoned if it’s cake!” Pinkie dove her muzzle into the slice, growling in victory as Celestia gave up, dropping the plate from her magic. Pinkie caught it with ease, licking it clean.

Twilight was sitting comfortably next to her brother, a dopey smile plastered on her face as she wrote in her journal. Shining seemed distracted by his daughter, playing happily with the lil’ pink foal bumbling in his hooves.

Arin snuck quietly around them, approaching Luna from behind – who was reading a scroll quietly on her edge of the table. Her mind was on another place, ignoring Rarity as she babbled on about this particularly cute stallion she saw in Canterlot to Rainbow Dash, who looked on the edge of breaking.

Pulling up quietly beside her, he tried to not make a scene as he spoke to her.

“Luna, I think I have a problem.” He said. Nopony had noticed him yet. Who knew that book on stealth would help so much?

She nearly jumped, dropping the scroll on the table – Arin’s finger slipping up to silence her from speaking. “Shh. I think Twilight is going to make me her guard.”

Celestia’s ears swiveled to the conversation, honing in on the two as Luna spoke.

“Absurd, she has no right. I will not allow it. I asked for you, Shining wouldn’t dare lay a knife between my wings in such a manner.” She said, a bit louder than Arin would have liked. Pinkie Pie caught on to the conversation as well, blabbering loudly.

“Oooh!~ Shining is going to stab you in the back, Princess Luna? That’s crazy!” She banged her hooves on the table, shaking Celestia’s disappointing salad. That instantly broke the babble of ponies, Shining’s eyes darting to Luna.

“Are you accusing me of something? I’m right here, Princess.” He said, glaring down the table at Luna. Luna puffed her wings defensively.

“We have specifically requested that Arin be Our guard.” She said sternly. The herd of ponies caught in the crossfire went deadly silent, Rarity almost drooling at this juicy gossip. Applejack simply slid her hat down, tuning this bit out.

“Yes, you have. And as Knight Commander, I choose who my guards are stationed to. Who I decide to put Arin with is, ultimately, my choice. We will discuss this later.” Shining said, gently placing Flurry Heart into Cadence’s lap.

“You- you! Sister, please, advise him otherwise! We believe that Arin should stay here, with Us! He is our friend! Our only friend!” Luna said, her heart tearing to pieces in front of the group.

“Arin can’t spend his entire life trapped in the Castle, especially as a new citizen of Equestria. Shouldn’t he get the chance to explore the world? To see outside the castle walls? To make new friends?” Twilight chimed in, “He’s no better than a Pet here.”

“He can see outside of Canterlot, We will take him! We are not afraid of the outside!” Luna defended her lifestyle, caught in a corner.

Arin, now, felt conflicted. Twilight had a point. He was kinda stuck in the Castle right now, which left him wanting occasionally. No one had tried to stop him from leaving, exactly, but it felt odd leaving his room without guidance. The eyes of the guards felt piercing when they didn’t speak, after all.

Los Pegasus… Vapor Cloud mentioned something about another city. He would love to see it, and try out these ‘slots’ he talked about. Whatever they were. And Ponyville? It sounded… okay.

But he liked Luna. Even if she was acting a bit childish right now, in his opinion – he did enjoy her company quite a bit, and her ‘accent’ was adorable. And Twilight really put him on edge earlier, with how diabolical she sounded.

Twilight, on the other hand… he didn’t have much of an opinion of her. She seemed overly studious, sure, quiet even – but she also seemed a bit too sneaky for him. And she said something about… experimenting? She called him an anomaly – he didn’t know this word, in truth. His dictionary didn’t include too many science terms. But he felt like this was a bad thing, almost like she was going to do a bit too much poking and prodding for his own good.

He snapped back to the conversation, as the room went quiet, all eyes on him. He completely zoned out, lost in thought.

“Well?” Twilight asked softly, holding a hopeful smile. “Do you want to see the rest of Equestria? I can show you my Castle in Ponyville, it’s lovely.”

“Yeah, lovely if you like ugly crystals.” Rainbow Dash muttered, Rarity shooting a hoof over her mouth. Pinkie Pie threatened her with another cupcake, locking eyes with the Rainbow Pegasus. Honey Leaf appeared as well, from under the table, holding a very menacing sponge.

“I know and like Luna. While at times I do wish to see the outside world – I’m happy here, too, where my friends are. If that’s okay. It was also what put me in this training, anyway.” He said, feeling a bit shy. He didn’t like an excess of attention. Twilight rolled her eyes, defeated for the moment.

“Also, I’m pretty sure Twilight is going to like… poke at me with needles or something. She said something about studying me, and that seems a bit too much for uh… well, me. And I don’t like being stabbed, thanks.”

All eyes fell on Twilight, as she slowly shrank behind her book. Shining frowned, eyes settling on her little sister.

“Oh, did she?” He said. She shrank a little more. “That settles it then. Luna, Arin will be your Elite Guard.”

The nighttime Princess jumped from her seat, fluttering her wings in delight with a happy cheer. Twilight sighed, dropping her book. “I just wanted to know more about you. There’s so much to learn.”

“The only thing you need to know about me is that I’m really not that interesting. Sure, I’m from a different world, but have you ever considered that I think my world is terrible after living here? That must tell you enough, really.” He rolled his wrist, popping it softly. “The best I can tell you is that my people were war hungry, and that’s where a lot of my problems came from.”

Twilight jotted a few notes down, sighing. Luna’s wing darted around Arin’s side, pointing to the sky with a shoe-covered hoof. “I have so much to show you, my sturdy guardian! You shall bare witness to all we hold coveted! The splendor of the night will radiate in your heart!” She blushed, dropping her wing, giving a timid giggle.

Princess Cadence gave a soft ‘d’aww’, a hoof over her muzzle at the gesture. Shining Armor’s eyes flicked between the two – his wife, and the lunar princess – before the realization dawned on him. He went quiet, giving a sigh of relief as ponies returned to their meals.

Rarity was gently flank checked out of the way by Honey Rose, who gave Arin an excited hug. “Ya did it, hon! You beat back the she-witch from Ponyville, and saved the damsel in the massive castle! I’m proud.”

Rarity gasped, holding a hoof over her muzzle. She went to speak, but a wet sponge was shoved into her mouth, making her choke.

“Thanks Honey, I was a bit uh… worried, that I was going to be carted away against my will. I don’t know how pony politics function. And it’d suck to lose you – after all the baths you put me through, I’d hate to leave you in Canterlot.”

“D’aww, you’re gonna make me cry cutie. Don’t say that.” She smiled, pulling him into a soft hug. “Besides, you’re pretty light. Lighter than a stallion, at least. So really, it’s all your fault – if you didn’t want to get tossed in the bathtub, you wouldn’t be toss-size.”

“Blegh! Where has this sponge been?!” Rarity said, having finally dislodged it from her muzzle. She spit a dozen times, drinking down her cup of tea to wash the taste out of her mouth before speaking. “Arin, I do have a surprise for you. I left a gift for you in your room – it was commissioned by an anonymous pony, I wont say her name. Thankfully, the maids had your original clothes on hoof, otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to craft it as easily.”

A gift? From an anonymous source? He had never received an actual gift before, besides once before from his mother – a well crafted bow for hunting – so he could feel the excitement building in his stomach.

His food arrived and he quickly scarfed it down, sharing a piece of his fish with Luna. It drew disgusted gasp from Fluttershy, who didn’t have the heart to ever consider eating a fish herself. Luna, on the other hand – didn’t care. She liked the occasional bit of meat.

Celestia eventually tossed her salad bowl to the side, face planting the table. “Twilight, do you have a spell to make Alicorns lose weight?” She asked, muffled by the fine wood beneath her.

“Well, no, I don’t think such a thing exists…”

“Alright, I have a new duty for you. A lesson in friendship. I need you to craft a spell to zap ten heaps of fat off of me.” Celestia mumbled, Twilight giving a laugh.

“Alright, I’ll give it a shot. No promises, Princess.”

“Good. I believe in you, Twilight.” She moped for a moment more, eyes heavy. “Arin, if Luna didn’t want you to be her defender, I would have definitely put you forward to be my guardian. You share your cake. That’s the main requirement in my book.”

Arin gave a laugh, passing forward half his cake to the thankful Sunlight Princess. She beamed, lifting it up in her magic – quickly taking a love-filled bite. “Exactly what I mean.”

Standing up from the meal, and the weight off his shoulders, Arin made to leave, Luna trotting to catch up. She walked by his side as they left the room, Cadence giving a happy sigh.

“It’s good to see Princess Luna falling head over hooves for someone, even if they aren’t a pony.” She said to no one in particular, Celestia chiming in.

“That was entirely unintentional, by the way. I just wanted Luna to make a friend.” She said, chocolate cake crumbs spilling from her muzzle.

“Hold on a second, are you telling me that the Princess – Princess Luna, big scary Luna, has a crush on that thing? The uh… what’s he called, Twi?” Rainbow Dash demanded, absolutely bewildered at this news.

“He’s a Seraph, Rainbow Dash.”

“Yeah, that!” She said, putting both hooves on the table. Shaking the remaining plates.

“Well, he is handsome for his kind. Clean face, symmetrical, brown hair and eyes, a soft tan to his skin – dare I say it, he looks marvelous, though not my cup of tea. Much better than that Anonymous fellow. I’m convinced that his face isn’t green at all, rather he wears a mask to hide his ugly face. That… fiend!” She shuddered, thinking about the rude human back home.

“Pfft! Your cup of tea is rich and royalty!” Pinkie commented, drawing a laugh from several ponies. Rarity stuck her nose up, ignoring the Pink menace.

Twilight sighed, looking up to Celestia. “Princess, why didn’t you defend me? You and I both know that he needs this to grow.”

Celestia took a sip of her tea, nodding. “He may grow, but you would not. The world does not always revolve around you, Twilight. I could send him to the Dragon Lands, and he would learn – I could send him to stay with Thorax, and they would teach him too. It matters not the teacher, but the lesson in this case. I sent you to Ponyville without instruction, without a leader to direct you – and look where you are now.”

Twilight looked up to her mentor, nodding. “You’re right Princess. I may be the Princess of Friendship, but you’re still my teacher, after all this time.”