Iron Bastion

The meeting with Celestia ended quickly after Bastions response. The girls shifted awkwardly out of the throne room while Bastion slowly walked behind them, his stride making it easy to keep up with the girls. "Sooooo, you're twenty six ay? That means most of us are older then you. You ok being around older mares?" Rainbow tried to break the tension surrounding them.

"Excuse me, I am not an older mare. I'm still quite young you know." Rarity took insult to the suggestion, flipping her hair with exaggeration.

Bastion gave only a simple "Yes." In reply, his head swiveling around while a hand rested on a hammers hilt.

Applejack leaned towards Twilight. "Can we really trust this guy? He ain't exactly the friendliest fella it seems." She pointed out to the young princess.

Shaking her head Twilight replied "Celestia wouldn't have set him as our guardian if she herself didn't trust him he'd never be even brought in. I say let's give him a chance. Maybe he'll become a good friend!" Doing her best to keep enthusiasm about the situation.

"Permission to speak you majesty?" Bastion asked, spooking the girls.

"Ah, um, of course. You know you don't have to ask permission to talk with us." She answered, putting on her best smile though it was tinged with awkwardness.

Stopping in his tracks Bastion knelt down on one knee while producing a set of rings. "If I may be so bold as to ask for your hand." He asked dead pan.

"What?!?" The girls shouted.

"Hold it right there mister! You don't just ask a mare you just met for her hand while holding a ring and kneeling!" Rarity interjected, her nostrils practically blowing out steam. The others in equal shocked states.

Twilight taken aback started to stutter out "I-I'm terribly sorry but I can't agree to something like... this after just meeting someone." Her mind whirling. "He want's to do something like this after barely talking? When Celestia said he wasn't used to normal conversation I don't think she meant this bad." She thought to herself.

Bastion cocked his head to the side in a clear show of confusion though they couldn't see his face. "I apologize if there is some mix-up. I am not asking for marriage. I need you all to wear these rings so that I may do my job better." His voice carrying no hint of emotion.

"B-b-but you knelt down and are holding rings. That's what a stallion or mare does when asking for marriage." Fluttershy meekly spoke out, ducking into her hair when his helmet turned to her.

The stallion hung his head. "My deepest apologize for causing discomfort. I will take any punishment you deem appropriate for this failure. I simply wished to provide these rings that help me know if you are near danger and let you communicate with me. As well as applying them in a more comfortable way then if I simply stood." He calmly explained, not moving further.

"Why would we punish you over just a misunderstanding silly?" Pinkie asked, stepping slightly towards the man only to be stopped by Applejack with a shake of her head.

"Section thirty seven paragraph two of the The Warriors Directory dictates that any and all miscommunication, insult, attempt, or general misconduct towards a superior is to be punished by the offended superior. Examples provided are twenty mile run, fifty lashings, forced submersion in negative waters." He listed as if reading the page itself.

The girls were horrified that such pieces existed to be used on the kingdoms guards. "Does this go for any in service? Like the Wonderbolts?" Rainbow asked, having set herself down on the ground again.

Shaking his head Bastion answered "No Lady Dash, the Directory is only associated with the Knights as we are needed to keep to perfection as a simple miscommunication could lead to lose of life." His monotone voice carrying new meaning to them.

Twilight stepped past the others, resting a hand on the large stallions shoulder. She took note of how the armor felt cold. "You need not worry about us carrying out such punishments on simple flubs on our side. Why don't you put those rings on us and we can continue towards the train?" She suggested, casting glances at the girls.

Bastion nodded slowly before gently reaching out for Twilight's hand. Once she placed her hand in his larger one she slipped a black ring etched with runes made with silver and gold onto her ring finger. A glow spread from the ring before dimming back to nothing. "Now if you are in danger you can send a message to me letting me know your location. It is also etched with special runes I have created to provide a one time use teleport directly to my position. After though it will need to be recharged before it can be used again." He robotically explained, turning to Fluttershy who was the next closest.

As he slipped each ring over the girls fingers they couldn't help look over the craftmanship of the item. It fit perfectly on them as if specially crafted. Soon as the last one was placed on Applejack's finger Bastion stood once more to tower over the girls. Silently waiting for them to make the first move.

"Rarity extended her hand before holding against her grey dress. "I can think of a few new ideas to make this work. Who made these for you Sir Bastion?" She asked, looking up to the massive stallion.

"I did Lady Belle." Bastion answered to the surprise of the group. When questioned he answered "Many missions required we fit a certain role. One such role I filled was a jeweler, so I mastered the craft two weeks before deployment." His casual tone caused them to look to Applejack, the living lie detector.

"He ain't lyin'. He really is one." She replied to their looks before looking back down at the ring now on her hand. "So tell us ,how much would this thing normally cost big man." She asked, looking closer at the gold and silver inlay.

His head leaned back for a brief moment before looking back down on them. "Normal market value in Canterlot would put the ring at fifty six thousand and twenty two bits." He slowly said.

Each gave outcries of shock and disbelief at the number he told them, staring down at their hands. They couldn't believe each had just simply been GIVEN such expensive piece of jewelery.

"This thing costs more then my house..." Rainbow mumbled aloud.

"The farms fees over a decade could be paid with this!" Applejack muttered, clutching her hand to her chest. "Is it really ok for us to just keep these?" She asked, looking the Armored man up and down.

Moving slowly through the group Bastion's voice echoed what he had said earlier. "They help me do my job protecting you. Keep them on at all times please. Now if we are ready the teleportation circle is almost ready for use." He moved slowly ahead of them.

Twilight perked up from her minor panic over the ring, trotting along behind the stallion. "Teleportation circle? But those are only used for emergencies and need to be powered by several powerful unicorns. Who will be working on it?" She questioned.

"I will. It's the only way to ensure complete security over the procedure." Bastion answered, pushing open a set of doors that lead to a chamber with an open skyline above that let in large amounts of light. A few of the symbolled ponies moved around a circle with different runes drawn into the ground.

To Twilight this single person just claimed he could do what normally took twenty ponies to do. Even by her levels of magic this kind of feat would be a challenge. "You'll have to forgive me if I have doubts you can truly do something like this. Do you have previous events to reference the amount of magic you have?" She asked, walking ahead of him to look for any reaction.

Bastion stopped short of the circle. "Operation Mountaineer. It was a mission set to remove wendigo threats encroaching on Equestrian borders. Solution that fully halted the monsters was the creation of a natural barrier. I was sent to create said barrier. Final product was the upheaval of earth to create the Winter mountains, a permanent frozen mountain range that slowly melts to both keep wendigos away and provide a sustainable source of water to valleys below." He calmly stated, once more speaking as if reading a page.

Sputtering Twilight gave rebuttal "That is a blatant lie! The appearance of the Winter mountains was documented as violent volcanic reaction under a magic hotspot! Applejack?" She shouted, looking to her friend.

Shaking her head Applejack shrugged. "He hasn't said a single lie Twi. I have to believe he really did it." The element of Honesty replied, rubbing her arm.

Twilight's brain was having a minor malfunction at the information. Over fifty documents had been created with the express approval of the highest scholars and professors in the kingdom over the topic of the mountain's appearance and yet here stands a pony claiming they were the ones who made it on top of passing the honesty test by the most trustable person around. "Buh Wah How When Ugh!" She shouted, almost tearing her hair out.

"Calm down Twi. Yeah it may be a shock but we can just ask more about him and things he's done later. Besides, think of this as a source of new information." Pinkie Pie tried to sooth her frazzled friend.

On the idea of getting new information especially now confirmed true information that counters heavy documents Twilight snapped up straight. "Iron Bastion, I order you to tell me more things that you have done when we get back home!" She practically yelled, pointing a finger at the knight.

Bastion snapped to attention. "If it is within authorization all information and documentation will be provided ma'am." His voice gaining a monotone layer.

Fluttershy couldn't help think something was wrong at his reply but she couldn't place a finger on it. "Why does it bother me what he said?" She thought to herself when a voice in the back of her head spoke up. "It's not what he said, it's how." Her eyes closed for a moment as she nodded to herself. Things slowly starting to make sense. She was brought back to the present when Rainbow called out to her.

"Come on Shy! The circles ready!" She yelled, waving to her friend. Standing next to her was a giddy Twilight smiling like a filly during Hearth's Warming.

Hurrying next to the group she took notice of the other knights moving closer to them. "Um, are they coming with us?" She asked, looking to the stallion.

"They will be stationed around Ponyville to provide extended protection for you all as I can't be in so many places at once. As a side note I will be on rotation near each one of you to better spread out attention." Bastion stated, his palms beginning to glow. Taking his left hand to his left eye Bastion extended his right hand outwards, circling it around. Wind picked up around the group as the runes on the circle illuminated one by one. Dragging his hand to create different symbols in the air Bastion's horn glowed brightly. As if jamming his hand into position He set it in the middle of the circle he drew twisting it like a lock. Soon everypony's vision filled with a multitude of colors before receding away to reveal them standing just outside of Ponyville.

"Talk about express delivery!" Rainbow Dash said in awe, fluttering into the air. Two of the knights that followed immediately unfurled their wings to take off, hovering in circles around her. "Awe come on! Am I not allowed to stretch my wings now?" She complained, looking down to the towering stallion.

Shaking his head Bastion's voice droned out "Negative Lady Dash. It is simply because we have not had time to determine the safety of the area. Until a thorough scan has been completed each one of you will carry an escort excluding me." He stayed in the same spot he had arrived in while the girls fanned out slightly, the rest of the knights silently following along. "I apologize if this raises issues for the time being. It is all for your safety." He added, bowing deeply.

Pinkie Pie hopped around the two knights that followed her while humming to herself. "Wowie Zowie, I'll have to make a lot of welcome to Ponyville parties to cover all these new friends!" She loudly said. Getting close into the armored face of one of the knights she asked "What's your name?"

The knight snapped to attention and spoke in a female voice "Knight Sparker ma'am! I was specially selected to serve as one of your shadows." The knight saluted before resting once more.

"What? Were each chosen to be our best match and keep up with us?" Rainbow called out, looking over the two hovering round her.

The two stopped in place before answering at the same time. "Knights Yin and Yang. We are the fastest in the branch so we were chosen to keep an eye on you while avoiding slowing you down as much as possible." The two's armor being direct color differences of each other but also incredibly bulky.

Rainbow gave a snort. "Oh so you think you are fast huh? Care to put those words to the test?" She challenged, leaning at the two from her spot above.

The two looked to Bastion as if waiting on something. "Undo restriction locks one through five. Don't go over sound barrier." He commanded, not even looking at them.

As Rainbow started to question what he meant by that the two knight's armor seemed to fizzle away, loosing considerable mass and scale. Soon black and white fur respectively could be seen poking out from under the gear. "We are ready to prove ourselves Lady Dash." They spoke in unison.

With a scoff Rainbow turned towards a cloud range off in the distance. "First one there is the fastest then. Ready? Three. Two. One. Go!" She said, darting off with a streak of color behind her. When the two knights didn't move the girls looked at them in confusion before hearing a few of the knights around them chuckle, showing a small amount of emotion as the two flying knights nodded to each other three times before practically disappearing with speed after Rainbow Dash.

"The rest of you will follow your VIP's back home then secure their areas. Once handled send your reports to me. I will be covering the outer rim of the designated area. Any questions?" Bastion suddenly barked out orders, startling the remaining girls at his tone shift.

"NO SIR!" The knights shouted in unison before focusing their gazes on their targets.

Rarity stepped towards the large knight. "Pardon me dear but where will all of you be staying?" She asked. "I hope not just in the wild or something similar." She added.

Looking to her Bastion shook his head, his barren voice back. "A place of operation has already been supplied for us. My rotation between each of you will provide reprieve for your selected knights." He answered.

"Now hold on one sec. Does that mean you won't get any breaks at all? What about time to eat or sleep?" Applejack question, putting her hands on her hips. "Ya can't expect us to let you to do all this work just on your lonesome." She called out.

Nodding his head Bastion replied "Thank you for your concerns ma'am but we have all been trained to operate on minimal rest or necessities. You need not worry about a simple knight like me." His demeanor unchanged. "If you'll excuse me commanders I will begin my scan before convening with Lady Shy for first rotation." He added, bowing deeply before marching towards the Everfree forest.

The girls all looked to each other as a sonic Rainboom went off in the distance, distracting them from the slowly disappearing stallion. "Looks like Dashy had to break out the big guns to win." Pinkie said with a giggle, moving to head back to her home.

The others gave their own thoughts before separating, followed silently by their escorts. Rainbow Dash herself was left gasping on a cloud with the Yin and Yang leaning over her panting form with calm actions as if they had put in no effort winning against her even when she used the sonic boom. "So tell us. Do we satisfy your requirement Lady Dash?" They asked, the smallest hint of mirth in their voices.