Steel Horizon suffered a mild heart attack when he noticed the paper he had set aside mere moments before was missing.

“It was right here!” he yelled in frustration.

His hooves opened every drawer, skirted into every cupboard, scaled every nook and cranny of the house. He double and triple checked the inside lining of his Captain’s armor, each spot completely devoid of the all too important piece of paper.

“Where is it!?” Steel Horizon muttered to himself through gritted teeth. He stopped and checked underneath his wings. It would be embarrassing to discover that once again he had panicked at not being able to find something only to find that he had stashed it in his left wing as opposed to his right. But at this point he would take embarrassment if it meant he could find that stupid piece of paper. He flexed his wings, examining each feather for any stray objects. His preening instinct kicked in and he started cleaning out a few spots of dust.

“No time to preen,” Steel Horizon reminded himself, taking off just one more patch before focusing on the task at hoof.

The paper had been on top of his dresser in the master bedroom. At least it had at one point unless his memory was untrustworthy, and if that was the case there was no reason to even bother trying to do anything anymore. He should quit everything, leave it to somepony e—

“Stop it,” Steel Horizon reprimanded.

He dashed to the kitchen, the few spare unclean dishes in the sink drawing him in, the ease of the task of washing dishes somehow inviting over the foreboding searching. “Not now!” Steel Horizon regained control, opening the silverware drawer and peering at the few utensils left unpacked.

The living room was desolate except for the large stacks of boxes piled up, a few stacked precariously and leaning a little too much to the side. Steel Horizon straightened the stacks and inspected the room. The spells on the armor would have made his vision sharper, he half considered putting it on just to search the house.

He trotted up the blank stairs, the pictures of Steel Horizon, Suncatcher, and his daughter in their proper place in preparation for the move.

He knocked on the door to his daughter’s room, “Scoots? Are you there?”

“Come in, Dad,” said Scootaloo.

He swung the door open. “Scoots, have you seen a very official looking paper around the house recently?”

“Dad, all your papers look official, I’m surprised our toilet paper doesn’t have the royal seal on it.”

“No, not that kind of official, Scoots. I’m looking for the title to the house, I must have dropped it somewhere while I was packing. Are you sure you haven’t seen it?”

She looked embarrassed for a short moment, just enough for Steel Horizon to see there was some scheme going on.

“You have seen it, haven’t you?”

“No.”

“Please, Scootaloo. I need that title in order to finalize the sale of the house. Are you absolutely sure you haven’t seen it.”

“No.”

“No you aren’t sure, or no you haven’t seen it?”

“Just… No!” she said, turning away from him and trying to roll and reroll some posters of the wonderbolts.

“Scootaloo, let’s talk about this. I know it’s been sudden getting everything ready with only a few days notice, but we’ve got to move.”

“Why?”

“Because I’ve missed you and your mother for these last few years. I’ve been transferring so often across Equestria that we've been apart as a family this whole time. I’ve talked with the captain of the guard in Canterlot and they’re guaranteeing me that I will be stationed there for at least three years. This is the first time since you were a baby that we can stay together as a family.”

“I… I know dad,” said Scootaloo, staring at the floor, folding her forelegs in front of her chest and slumping onto her bed.

“So… have you seen the title?” asked Steel Horizon.

She sat there for a few moments, not saying anything.

Steel Horizon tried to figure out what to say next. He felt like he barely knew his daughter. These years apart had been hard, but at least he would be there when she got her cutie mark. By some miracle she hadn’t found her special talent yet.

He tried to get close to her by sitting down next her on the bed, but as he sat down, he heard the sound of crinkling paper.

He stood back up again and reached underneath the pillowcase, grabbing the paper underneath.

“Dad, no! I…” Scootaloo began.

“Scootaloo, why did you hide this from me?” said Steel Horizon, simultaneously relieved to find the title to the house and annoyed that Scootaloo had hidden it.

“I… I don’t want to move to Canterlot, I like living here in Ponyville,” said Scootaloo, looking down.

“But we can’t be a family in Ponyville, Scoots. I miss you and your mom too much to be alone anymore. Do you really want to continue living without me in your life?”

“I’ve been fine without you so far,” muttered Scootaloo quietly, but not quiet enough.

“What did you just say!?” Steel Horizon barked.

She shrank into a corner of her bed, pulling a blanket up to her eyes, his outburst made him instantly regret yelling.

“I’m sorry, Scoots,” Steel Horizon softened. “I haven’t spent enough time with you, and when I do talk to you, I talk to you like a recruit instead of a daughter. But that’s going change from here on out, you’ll see.”

He nestled the paper into his right wing. “Now that I’ve got this, I’ve got to get it to the new owners. And then we’ve got to be out of here to board our train at 6:00. You’ll have your room packed up when I get back in an hour or so, right?”

She sighed, “Yes, sir.”

He backed up out of the room and rounded to the balcony at the end of the hallway, putting the title in his teeth and jumping into the air, his wings propelling him up and into the sky.

It didn’t take him long to find the realtor. But leaving the title took some time. There was yet more paperwork to sign, and more issues to work out, but in the end the new owners would have their house by tomorrow. He felt grateful that at least his wife was doing the work in Canterlot to get their new house, her paperwork would last a lot longer than this.

He raced to a rental cart location, picking up the cart he would be using to haul all of their possessions, and trotting home as briskly as he could with the empty cart in tow.

When he got home, Scootaloo and her scooter were missing, but all of the rest of her possessions were in the boxes like he had asked. He could have used her help though.

He started the long process of taking the boxes and putting them into the cart. In the end he had a nice tall stack of boxes. He grabbed some rope and secured the cargo, making sure everything was snug before he started the trek to the train station.

He ran through the house one last time, the empty structure barely a monument to the home it had once been. He locked the door, set the key underneath the doormat, and hitched himself up to the cart.

It was slow going, and the entire time he was hoping that Scootaloo would be waiting there for him at the train station. He looked at Celestia’s sun, the late afternoon surprising him and making him redouble his efforts to speed things up.

He arrived at the station with thirty minutes left to get all of the boxes onto the train. He pulled out some bits and asked some of the staff at the train station for help. It took him and three other stallions, but everything was packed up by the time the train was ready to head to Canterlot.

Every box Steel Horizon put into the train made him a little more uneasy. Scootaloo still hadn't arrived by the time the last box was loaded into the train car.

Steel Horizon leapt into the air and soared above Ponyville, looking for his daughter. After a few moments he spotted her slowly making her way to the train station on her scooter, a white filly and a yellow filly helping her along.

At her current pace, she’d never make it to the station in time. He dove down to Scootaloo and landed next to her.

“Scoots, our train’s about to leave, we gotta get going.”

“Now? My friends are going to see me off at the station.”

“Yeah, it’s tradition!” said the yellow one.

“We could get our cutie marks in saying goodbye at train stations!” said the white one. “It’s done so often that I’m sure it’s gotta be somepony’s special talent.”

“Sorry girls, but we have got to leave,” he looked up at the sun, panicked by how close it was to the horizon, “right now.”

He picked up Scootaloo and her scooter in his forelegs and rushed away.

“NO! DAD STOP! At least let me say goodbye!” she wailed.

He slowed to a stop in midair, flapping for a few moments. He looked at the train in the distance; it hadn’t left yet. He sighed and zoomed back to the other fillies.

“Alright, but be quick about it.”

The three fillies stood there for a moment not saying anything until the yellow one gave Scootaloo a hug, the white one joined in and they said a small goodbye.

The sound of a train horn blew in the distance as Steel Horizon’s pupils shrank.

“I umm… sorry to break this up but…” he began.

They didn’t respond.

With all the respect of a graverobber, Steel Horizon pulled Scootaloo out of the hug and zoomed back to the train station. She fidgeted around in his forelegs as he got to the station, flashed his tickets to the conductor and landed in the seats.

No sooner had they arrived then the train lurched forward and started its steady march toward Canterlot.

It was about the time the last pieces Ponyville had flown from the view of the train's window when Scootaloo started crying.

He wasn’t sure what to do in this situation. When babies cried it was because they were tired, hungry, or needed a diaper change, but the solution to this kind of crying was way outside the areas of his expertise.

He pulled Scootaloo closer to him, but she tensed up and pushed away, leaning against the windowpane, the setting sun cascading through, leaving the train the same color orange as her coat.

The first hour of the trip he sat silent, waiting for her crying to stop. He had developed the habit of being able to have his brain go into a blank standby mode when he had his armor on, always ready for an attack, always listening for something out of the ordinary, a calm exercise. However, without his armor his mind raced, his synapses unable to find their way to the spot that allowed him to think of nothing.



A couple minutes after she stopped sniffling, he decided to prod her with a question.

“What kind of house do you think mom picked out?”

She didn’t answer.

“You know, I picked the last house you lived in when your mom was still in the hospital with you. She didn’t even see the house until I had signed the title. She’s been wanting to pick out the next place we live ever since then.”

Scootaloo stared out the window, the darkness of the night leaving little to watch.

“We could get you a cloud bed, too! They’re the softest beds around. I can’t sleep on those because Suncatcher’s an earth pony, but you could get one if you wanted.”

Scootaloo didn’t say anything.

“You… umm… feeling okay?” asked Steel Horizon.

“No…”

“Moving can be hard, its tough saying goodbye to a place you love. But don’t worry, Canterlot’s a great place, you’ll see.”

“But it’s not home…”

“We’ll make a new home, one with all of us as a family, it’ll be great Scoots.”

“Home is where you have family and friends Dad. It will be nice to have you around more… but why did I have to say goodbye to my friends?”

Steel Horizon frowned, “I’m sorry for that Scootaloo. I guess I’m just used to saying goodbye, I’ve been transferring all across Equestria for so long I’m used to meeting ponies and then leaving. But you can make new friends in Canterlot. There’s a lot of fillies and foals there that I’m sure you’ll be able to make new friends just as easily.”

“Do you have any idea how hard it was to find other fillies with blank flanks to be friends with? And I’m a year older now and I still don’t have my cutie mark. I’m sure everypony in Canterlot my age already has theirs.”

“I’m sure not everypony in Canterlot will have their cutiemarks, but even so, you can be good friends with ponies that have cutiemarks. I mean, were you going to stop being friends with umm… what were their names again?”

“Sweetie Belle and Applebloom.”

“Yeah them. Were you going to stop being friends with them the moment they got their cutie marks?”

“Of course not, I’d be way happy for them if they got theirs!”

“Well then, if you can imagine being friends with ponies that have their cutiemarks, I’m sure that you’ll make friends in Canterlot just fine.”

She sighed, “It’s not the same...”

“That’s because you haven’t met them yet. It’s easy to not like a pony when you haven’t met them yet. But give it time, I’m sure you’ll gain some new friends at your new school. Besides, I didn’t even get my cutiemark until I went to Canterlot.”

“How did you get your mark?”

“I haven’t told you? The Canterlot guard was doing some practice drills around the city, and I don’t know how but one of their helmets rolled away from some poor stallion during the practice. I saw it and did what any foal would do my age, I grabbed it and put it on my head. It was way too big of course, but when I lifted it up and could see the sun between the horizon of Canterlot and the steel helmet. And all I wanted to do afterwards was wear that helmet again.”

He looked at his helmet cutie mark, a setting sun lowering to the horizon where the eyes would be.

“And I’ve been part of the guard ever since, only now I finally get to help protect Celestia herself. A lot of stallions end up with cutie marks that give them the destiny of protecting Princess Celestia, but not all of them end up with that privilege. This is what I’ve been preparing for.”

The lights of Canterlot came into view as the train slowly rolled its way into the station.

---

Things were hectic but quiet the next few days as Steel Horizon and Suncatcher moved in their things and grew accustomed to life in Canterlot.

All of his previous assignments paled in comparison to this one. His time at an outpost at the far reaches of the Everfree forest was spent ensuring that none of the beasts came out of the forest and into Dodge City. He had been stationed in the badlands near the dragon tribes, keeping watch and ensuring that the treaty they had with the larger tribes was kept. And he had spent months at sea, keeping the ocean around Horseshoe Bay protected against Griffon pirates. But he had never been where his cutie mark truly belonged, in Canterlot, protecting Princess Celestia.

Everything he did, all of the walking, the flying, the trotting, the directing, the standing at attention, everything had so much more purpose because it was Canterlot. He would run perimeter checks around the city, still completely amazed that he had ever been so lucky as to be transferred here, the beautiful majesty of the city welcoming him home.

The only thing that did not feel like home, was his house. He wasn’t the best at being observant while off duty, but even he could tell that Scootaloo was not doing very well.

And his wife, who had been okay with the move, was also not at tip top shape.

But they would get used to Canterlot, they would fall in love it with like he had long ago. He was in the right place, that much he could feel. And with enough time the rest of his family would feel the love he felt for this city too.

---

As he came on duty two weeks after the move, he received a category Sun order. He had long since memorized all of the various classifications for orders, but category Sun was a rare command he had never expected to see in his life.

He knew what it meant though, and he swiftly made his way to outside Celestia’s throne room.

He showed the unicorn guards the paper with the royal seal on it and they swung the doors open for him. It took most of Steel Horizon’s resolve to enter with confidence as opposed to slouching in fear. He kept himself tall, but almost did a double take when he saw not only Princess Celestia, but Princess Twilight as well.

He leaned forward into a low bow. “Princess Celestia, Princess Twilight, how may I be of service?”

“Hello Steel Horizon, thank for coming so promptly.” Princess Celestia said. “How are you enjoying your new position?”

He stood tall again, “I have never felt so much that I am in the right place and in the right time before, your highness. I have strived for many years to have the privilege of being part of the Royal Canterlot guard, and now that I’m here, I feel quite at home.”

“That is wonderful to hear,” said Princess Celestia. “You love being in Canterlot, but does your family like it here as well?”

His feathers ruffled a little at that, but he tried hard to straighten them quickly. “They are growing accustomed to living here,” he said, voicing his hopes, rather than the reality.

“It turns out that Princess Twilight got an interesting letter the other day, Steel Horizon. Would you like to read it?”

A letter fluttered in Celestia’s magic onto a nearby table. Steel Horizon squinted as he made out the words.

Dear Princess Twilight,

I know you are the Princess of Friendship and you can help ponies be able to work out friendship problems. Well, here’s my problem: I miss my friends. They’re back in Ponyville and I’m stuck in Canterlot. I know you will probably write back and tell me to become good friends with the ponies that are around me, and I’ve been trying, but I haven’t been able to. I’ve been here a week and I still haven’t found somepony to be my friend. I’m sick of trying. I want to be back in Ponyville with my friends, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom.

I know my dad loves it here, but I don’t think I could handle staying here any longer. Is there any way you could convince my Dad to take up a job in Ponyville? Or is there some magic friendship beam you could shoot at ponies to make them my friends?

Please tell me what I should do,
Scootaloo


He felt embarrassed reading the letter, his dreams of staying in Canterlot at odds with his dream to live with his family. He would have to live alone, again. He lifted his eyes away from the letter and straightened to face the Princesses.

“I think my daughter still needs a little more time to adjust to life in Canterlot. I think she could be really happy here if she learned how to make new friends.”

“I think learning to make new friends wherever you are is an important thing to do,” said Princess Twilight. “But I wonder if there is also another solution to this problem.”

“I will do whatever her highness wishes,” said Steel Horizon.

“And you have been a most admirable guard these last years, always ready to go to the next location as needed. Thank you for your continued service,” said Celestia.

Steel Horizon gulped, trying not to give away the fear that a letter from his daughter might have cost him his job.

“I would like to offer you a brand new position as a guard at my castle, Steel Horizon,” said Princess Twilight.

Steel Horizon’s mind went blank, this was another transfer he might as well be forced to accept under any circumstances. The culture of the guard demanded that he accept any position offered.

“Even as the Princess of Friendship, I’m not sure what would be the best solution here. It would be good for Scootaloo to learn more about friendship by making new friends, but she’s grown so close to her friends in Ponyville.”

“We would merely like you to consider the position in Ponyville, Steel Horizon,” said Celestia, her ethereal mane blowing by some invisible breeze. “Rest assured, this isn’t a forced assignment, you always have a choice, Steel. You can choose to stay in Canterlot, or go to Ponyville. Both are good options. Don’t feel forced to make a choice. This is your decision, not ours.”

“I know you’ve had your heart set on protecting Princess Celestia, but I am also a Princess,” said Twilight. “I don’t even have a royal guard yet. You could be the first!”

Steel Horizon’s eyes widened. “I would set up a new guard?”

“Yes, you would be Ponyville castle’s first guard.”

Steel Horizon thought about it for a few moments, the intricate carpeting at his feet a home for his eyes as his mind wandered around weighing the options, several thoughts nagging him. “But… we already sold our home in Ponyville.”

“You could stay at my castle. There are dozens of rooms on the first few floors. That’s plenty of room for several guards and their families too. Frankly, I’d be happy to have more people living there. It’s a little too large of a place for just Spike and I.”

He looked down at the floor thinking about the choice, the fact that there was a choice to begin with annoying him.

“Feel free to take some time to think this over, Steel,” said Celestia. “Talk it over with your family, see what they want. But make sure that it’s also something you want.”

---

Steel Horizon sighed, looking at the delicious hayburgers his wife had made, contemplating how to bring up the subject.
“Suncatcher, Scootaloo, I got a new job offer today.”

“A job offer?” asked Suncatcher. “Please tell me you’re not being transferred far away again.”

“No… no… it’s not a transfer. The Princesses made it very clear that I have a choice in the matter.”

“The Princess?” Suncatcher dropped her hayburger.

“Princesses?” asked Scootaloo.

“Yes, Princess Twilight got your letter, Scootaloo, and she does want you to be able to make new friends,” he said sternly. “However, she offered me a brand new position to be part of the Royal Ponyville guard.”

“She what?” said Suncatcher.

Scootaloo gasped and started bouncing and buzzing her wings. “Dad! DAD! Please you’ve got to take this! That would be the best thing ever! Please! Please! Please! Please! PLEEEEEEEAAAAAAASE take it!”

Scootaloo almost knocked over a glass of apple cider as she launched herself across the table and into her father’s forelegs, still spouting a plethora of pleases.

He grabbed a hold of her, “Hey, stay still Scootaloo, please. We’re going to discuss it, but in the end it’s my decision.” He looked back to his wife, "What do you think, Suncatcher."

“Steel, I’m sure I’ll be fine either way,” she said.

“Suncatcher, please no passive aggressive stuff today, I want your opinion.”

“Oh… well it’s not that clear cut. I mean, I’m fine either way, but, if it were up to me,” she gestured to herself, “I would take the Ponyville job.”

“I’m not so sure you’d like that. They want us to stay in that horrifically ugly castle.”

“The one in the Everfree forest?” asked Suncatcher.

“No, that new one, the big crystal castle from the magic tree box key thing… whatever. That place.”

Suncatcher’s eyes went wide. “We would stay in the Princesses Castle!? That place is beautiful. I’ve always wanted to go inside.”

“I’ve been to the Crystal Empire before, their palace echoes like you wouldn’t believe. I can’t imagine living there.”

“I’m sure if we added enough carpet, that could drown out the echo. I could make it work,” added Suncatcher. He could already see his wife’s interior decorator side jumping at the project.

“Please?” added Scootaloo, her eyes growing wide and sad, making the kind of expression only a little filly can make. He almost caved in that exact moment. With strength he didn’t know he was capable of, he blinked and looked out the window at Canterlot, the view of the palace catching his eyes.

“But this place feels like the home I’ve always wanted. I have you, and I have Canterlot, and I’m protecting Princess Celestia. I’m fulfilling my cutie mark.”

Scootaloo got off her father’s lap, standing next to him and staring at his cutie mark for a long while, mulling over something in her head.

“Scoots, what are you doing?” asked Steel Horizon, the sight of his daughter so thoroughly inspecting his flank making him more than a little uncomfortable.

“I’m working dad. I’m really good at staring at pony’s cutie marks and trying to figure them out. I’ve studied more about cutie marks than anypony else besides Applebloom and Sweetie Bell. To be honest, by this point I should have a cutie mark in learning about cutie marks.”

He frowned and took a bite of his hayburger. “And what have you learned from studying my mark?”

She stayed silent, still staring at his cutie mark, he was about to take another bite of his hayburger when Scootaloo jammed her hoof into his flank.

“I got it!” she said.

He shot her a dirty look, but she didn’t notice it.

“You’ve been misinterpreting your cutie mark, dad. See, it’s a helmet, and inside the helmet is a setting sun.”

“Yeah… it’s the sun, meaning I should be protecting Princess Celestia.”

“No Dad, it’s a setting sun. Look at the line running through it. You should be protecting Princess Twilight!”

He stared back at his cutie mark, his wife joining in the collective examination.

“Huh…” he said. “Never thought about it like that before.”

“She’s got ya’ there, Steel. It’s hard to argue with your own cutie mark,” said Suncatcher, taking another bite of her hayburger.

“Please, dad,” said Scootaloo, leaning against him and making that look with her eyes that had almost gotten him last time. Except she had gotten really skilled within the last few minutes, her eyes were wide and softly looking at him, hoping against hope for the best.

He thought about Canterlot… and then about Ponyville. It took him a little while, lost in his mind thinking about it, the wide lands, a Princess to protect, a town in need of help, and most important of all, a family that was truly happy.

“Well alright then.”