Bastion trudged through the forest, brushing branches out of his way as he made headway into the dense foliage. After a time he entered into a small clearing, the trees above waving in a gentle breeze with small beams of light breaking through. A small outcrop of rocks poked out from the earth with water gently pressing out of it and down into a pool. Walking closer Bastion knelt down to gaze into the water, taking in his masked appearance. Small whispers of thoughts played across the top of his mind as he gently set a finger into the water, watching his reflection ripple with the waves. A hand rose slowly to the strap holding his helmet in place but stopped short when a growl came from behind him. The hand fell as the whispers in his mind floated away leaving his mind empty again. Turning towards the growl while rising slowly Bastion spotted a group of timber wolves stepping out of the woods towards him. Grunting quietly his fists clenched, rising into a guarded position. "Guard the kingdom." He mumbled, his eyes blank as if reading a line from his mind. The wolves gave small howls before charging the unmoving figure.

Closer, closer, then...

Fluttershy hummed softly to herself as she made her way around the cottage, feeding the animals inside while the knight selected for her stood silently in a corner of each room she entered. Following only just enough to still see the shy mare. Fluttershy after a time meekly looked to the knight. "Um, w-would you like some tea Tacet?" She gently asked.

The knight shook their head slowly before returning to a still position.

Fluttershy gulped before taking a sip of her cup. "I...hope being my guard isn't a bother for you. I know I'm not the most exciting of a mare compared to the others so you might not get to do much. I hope we can become good friends though." She said after bolstering her courage, looking to the knight with large eyes.

Tacet seemed about to make a reply for the first time when a knock rapped against the door. A dark dagger immediately appeared in their hands startling Fluttershy. Another rap came to the door though this time it had small breaks between each some strikes. The dagger vanished and Tacet moved to open the door.

"Wait, are you sure you should do that? What if it's a bad pony?" Fluttershy questioned as Tacet's hand grabbed the door nob.

Silently the knight opened the door after looking at their care. Behind the door stood Bastion, green liquid splashed over his armored form and any red fur peaking from the armor. Bastion stooped through the door into the cottage while Fluttershy rushed over.

"Oh my goodness! Are you ok?" She asked, looking over his body. She quickly took note of the green liquid was actually a strange sap more like a tree. "What did you do to get covered like this?" She asked, taking a step back.

Looking to the selected knight Bastion nodded his head to the door. "Head back to operations. You'll take over once I move onto next VIP." He ordered. As the knight left Bastion shifted himself slightly. "I removed a prior reported threat to this area." He answered.

Tacet slowly walked across the bridge outside of the cottage before collapsing to her knees, holding her hands under her cheeks. "SHE'S SO CUTE!!!!!" The knight silently squealed thinking back to how Fluttershy looked at her. Clasping a hand into a fist one would think smoke puffed out of her nose. "I will protect the goddess of cuteness with my life!" She whispered, kicking her hooves slightly like a young foal before standing again to skip happily back to base. Her mind full of different ways to get her care in cute situations.

Shaking her head Fluttershy tugged at his arm. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up." She gently ordered, her mind running through things that could have this kind of mess making capabilities. "Wait...sap? The timber wolf pack!" She thought to herself, whipping her head to stare at the stallion following behind her. "You didn't kill them did you?" She questioned softly, looking to him with wide eyes.

She saw a small glint of something in Bastion's eyes on the question. "Only the alpha to convince the others to leave." He answered, his tone empty of emotion.

Fluttershy looked ready to him something before sighing. "I understand..." She whispered. To her surprise she felt a twitch from the stallion's hand. "Looks like he doesn't know everything about us." She thought to herself as she opened the door to her bathroom. "I've taken care of so many animals that I've had points where the best help I can provide is an easy passing. So I understand animal nature better then most. I would prefer above all else no blood shed but I also know more so then the others that sometimes it's unavoidable to get blood on your hands." She explained, turning to now look directly at the giant knight. "Now let's get that armor off so you can bathe." She said, reaching to work on a visible strap only to have his hand yank away quickly.

"No!" He suddenly loudly said surprising her. He quickly stiffened before an emptiness came off of him like a dead zone of life. "My apologize ma'am. I mean I am more then capable of removing my armor myself. If you please I would prefer to handle things alone." He apologized.

Startled by his sudden outburst Shy nodded her head, moving around him while closing the door behind herself. "What was that about?" She thought to herself. "Maybe I should ask him to tell me." She thought before smacking her face slightly. "What are you thinking? You saw how he reacted when Pinkie ordered him to lift her. He clearly doesn't like getting ordered to do things he doesn't like doing." She said to herself, moving down the stairs to prepare dinner.

Bastion stood in the bathroom silently for a moment before reaching behind himself, undoing a clasp holding his cape on his form. Slowly but meticulously his armor was removed being dropped into a portal he made appear. Soon he stood in a rough cloth tunic with patched up pants. Looking into the mirror he took note of the twitching in his right eye. "Still afraid." He muttered, covering the eye as he breathed slowly. Once he felt centered again he started the shower, slipping out of his clothes and under the water before it even heated back up.

Little time passed as Fluttershy finished prepping a simple salad dinner for two. Placing down the second plate she heard heavy foot steps slowly make their way down her stairs. Peeking her head around the corner she took in the still slightly damp form of her guardian. "Oh my." She mumbled, a hand raised to her mouth as she took in the shirt clinging to bulging muscles. If she had to guess he was double if not more larger then Big Mac. Snapping back out of her mind she gently said "Um, dinner is ready."

Bastion gave only a slow nod, making his way into the kitchen. As he approached the table Fluttershy couldn't help notice a glow flash over the food before disappearing. Before she could even ask He turned to her with that neutral stare. "My apologize. I just had to make sure no foul piece had made their way into the meal." He stated, pulling a chair out and bowing slightly for her to sit.

Sitting slowly Shy ducked her head slightly. "H-how serious could it be if something was in our food?" She questioned, knowing already he didn't mean she would mess with the food.

Taking his own position across from her, he taped his shoulders before touching just under his horn with his eyes closed as if giving a prayer. "It could range from just a slight bad taste to pains worse then death ma'am." He calmly answered making her gulp. When he took a bite of the salad she relaxed back down. "It is delicious Lady Shy." He complemented although it carried a almost hollow tone with it.

The two ate in silence for the rest of the meal until Flutteshy gently laid her utensils on her empty plate a concern filling her mind. "Excuse me Bastion, could I ask you a question?" She asked softly, looking at the stallion between her hair.

Slowly putting down his own utensils Iron straightened himself up. "You may ask anything and I will answer if it is within my power." He said, staring at her.

Gulping at suddenly being under his gaze she tapped her fingers together. "If it's not to much of a trouble for you..." She began. "Do you like being ordered to do things?" She finally asked after a moment. When he made no move or sound Fluttershy began to feel a panic build inside her. "Oh no did I just ask that?! I probably insulted him or something. I should have kept my big mouth shut." She thought to herself, feeling sweat build under her fur.

"As a knight of Equestria it is not a matter of liking or disliking a command. It is simply following the chain of command." He slowly said, once more as if reciting something someone else wrote or said.

Feeling a flash of courage through her Fluttershy leaned forward onto the table slightly while frowning. "I don't mean as a knight I mean as you the pony who has to follow the orders." She spouted, clasping a hand over her mouth after the words came out. Fear clear in her eyes when she saw the knight bow his head down. "I'm sorry you don't have to...." She began before a low voice caught her ears.

"As a knight of Equestria it is not a matter of liking or disliking a command. It is simply following the chain of command." He repeated once more but this time Shy knew for a fact she heard a sadness connected with what he said. He suddenly stood and bowed towards the mare. "My apologize ma'am, I need to check the surrounding area for threats so you can rest. I'll begin right away." He quickly said, moving out the door before she could give a response.

Looking down at the table she couldn't help sigh, reaching to gather the dishes. "I need to get the girls help in cracking this mystery." She muttered, looking out the window at the large silhouette of the stallion patrolling the property. After cleaning up she slowly walked up the stairs to her room. Slipping out of her clothes she took note of her large height in the mirror. Even compared to him though she was small, her mind slipping to him in his damp shirt though now she was standing next to him touching it. Shaking her head quickly she blushed. "No, down girl." She ordered, slipping into a night gown and into her bed. As sleep over took her she couldn't help wonder how warm he was.

Author's Note

A gold star for the first one to recognize the knights name.