Rules for Bodyguards

Chapters

Chapter 1 - Always Be Prepared
Chapter 2 - Look before you Leap
Chapter 3 - There are no Coincidences
Chapter 4 - The Princess has the Final Word
Chapter 5 - Never Volunteer
Chapter 6 - Be Ever Vigilant
Chapter 7. 1 - When Traveling in Roam...
Chapter 7. 2 - ...Do as the Roamans do.
Chapter 8 - If you want to come out again, don’t go in blind

Chapter 1 - Always Be Prepared

Shining Armor was not having a good day.

It had started out normal enough. Where had it gone wrong? He'd woken up, girded his armor, reported for duty, responded to a disturbance in the castle, spilled scalding hot coffee on Prince Blueblood...

Oh. Right. The Coffee Incident.

Looking back on it, things had gone downhill from there, starting with being screamed at by his superiors for the better part of an hour. Ending with chasing a cranky cockatrice through the courtyard, trying not to become the latest fashionable statue in Princess Celestia’s garden. Still, he’d had the sweet oblivion of sleep to look forward to until his door had burst open and his commanding officer told him to get dressed and ready to present himself to the Princesses. Now, he stood outside the throne room, after day court hours, trying not to sweat through his uniform.

The doors to the throne room creaked open and the guards outside uncrossed their spears, granting him access to the sanctuary. He swallowed nervously and entered, trying to appear more confident than he felt. Who knew? Maybe the princesses were just feeling sociable this evening?
The stern look on Celestia’s face did away with that faint hope. He approached the throne and bowed deeply, nearly prostrating himself before the princess.

“Your Highness,” he said slowly, “You sent for me?”

“I did.” A pregnant pause hung in the air like an unspoken threat. “I received a very interesting message from my nephew during my tea time this afternoon, asking me to consider reinstating capital punishment. Would you care to explain to me why Prince Blueblood is in the medical wing with coffee burns over 20% of his body, including his-”

“I think we all know the extent of his injures, Celestia,” Cadance interjected. “What is more telling is the fact that nopony who was actually at the... incident could or would give a clear answer as to what happened. As the only guard on the scene, we were hoping you could answer a few questions about the exact sequence of events.”

Shining Armor hesitated. “That... may be difficult, ma’am.”

Celestia raised an eyebrow. “Oh? And why is that?”

“I have taken an oath of secrecy, in front of witnesses regarding the events of this morning, my princess. I can no more renege on this vow them my own solemn promise to you.”
“I see.... and if I ask Blueblood about this promise, will he confirm that you did, indeed, make this vow of secrecy?”

“Most definitely, your highness. In fact, it was his idea.”

“is that so? Interesting.” Shining could feel Celestia’s eyes upon him, like she was trying to look into his soul to find the truth of the matter. After a few seconds, she turned to Cadance. “What do you think, Cadance? How would you handle this?”

Cadance looked at Celestia, then back at Shining Armor, biting her lip in a rather undignified manner. “When I was there earlier, the Doctor said that he was expecting Blueblood to make a full recovery, with no lingering physical effects from the incident. Given the minor injuries of the involved parties, the desire to keep the matter private, and the total lack of evidence, I think the only thing we can to warn everypony to be on their best behavior.”

Celestia continued to stare at Shining for a few seconds, then nodded. “I think that is all we can do, given the situation as it stands.” Shining let out an audible sigh of relief, nearly collapsing to the floor.

So, it is done. I take my secrets to the grave. And not an early one.

“if that is all, princess, then I would like to-”

“We have more to discuss, Corporal Armor,” Celestia interrupted, “matters not related to the events of today.” Shining’s heart fell again.

“Relax, Shining, it’s not bad,” Cadance giggled, “in fact, it's good news! We’re giving you a promotion! Sort of.” She shrugged. “I mean, you’ll have a much more stressful job, but on the other hoof, you get to hang out with us more, that should make up for it, right?” Shining Armor looked up at the two princesses above him, not understanding.

“Cadance has selected you to lead her bodyguard escort on her first diplomatic mission to Roam, Lieutenant Armor,” Celestia said, emphasizing his new rank. “In spite of the events of today, I have decided to go along with this, given your mutual history, among other things.”
“Princess... this is a great honor-”

“No, Corporal. This is not an honor; this is a duty. I will be holding you personally responsible for her wellbeing. Do you understand what all this entails?”

Shining Armor nodded. He knew the results if his incompetence or negligence led to Cadance being harmed. Celestia had outlawed Capital Punishment centuries ago, but there were still a number of very unpleasant places to serve out a life sentence. He'd been trained how to be a personal bodyguard, but he’d never expected to need those skills, considering his rather poor performance during testing. Or at least, what he’d thought had been a poor performance.

I’m either the beneficiary of rampant nepotism, or rampant incompetence. Yay me.

“Princess Celestia, I humbly accept this position with the upmost grad-”

“Gratitude and Respect and blah blah blah,” Cadance muttered. “Can we leave now, Celestia? I’m going to be stuck in a carriage until Seaddle. I’d like to get that over with. The sooner we’re on the ship, the better.”

Celestia rolled her eyes. “Yes, Cadance, we’re done. Make sure you go over the checklist one more time before you load your luggage.”

Shining Armor Looked between the two princesses. “Um, Princess Celestia, when did you say we were leaving? I have a few things that I need to attend to before I can start packing-”

“Your personal effects were packed and loaded into the carriage while we discussed your promotion, Corporal, you are ready to leave immediately.” Shining’s mouth dropped open.
“But I just accepted the position, how did you-”

“Corporal, you were bound either for Roam or the dungeon, your things had to be moved one way or the other. This way, the three of you can leave immediately.

"Three of us? Who is the third?”

“Lieutenant Barrel Roll will be in charge of the military attachment traveling to Roam. I understand the two of you know each other quite well.”

“He and I have been close for many years, Princess.”

“Excellent. The two of you should have no trouble coordinating your operations. You are both dismissed.”

Cadance squealed and hugged the elder princess, then leapt into the air and flew through the throne room and out the large doors in the front. Shining instinctively ducked as she swooped overhead, watching the elated princess as she left.

What have I gotten myself into? He wondered. Getting to his feet, he gave Celestia one more low bow, before turning and walking towards the door.

“And Corporal?” Shining Armor turned back around, only to discover himself nose to nose with the Princess. He froze, his limbs locked in place, his mouth suddenly drier than a desert as Celestia stared him down. He tried to stammer a response, but his tongue betrayed him, and all that came out was a pitiful squeak. “If I hear that you are involved any more ‘unexplained’ accidents that hurt my family, especially Cadance, I will reconsider my ban on Capital punishment. Do I make myself clear?”

Shining Armor nodded once, not trusting himself to speak. At last, Celestia broke the stare and walked over to one the many stain glass windows lining the walls of the throne room. “Go. Princess Cadance is waiting for you.”

He bowed for the last time and left quickly, gasping for breath as the doors closed and locked behind him. Of all the times he’d been in the presence of Celestia, he’d never before been the target of her ire. Now that he had, he understood better the rumors amongst the guards surrounding her, whispers of punishments that were worse than a quick death meted out to the worst of the worst.

Never again, he resolved.

The long walk to the chariot landing strip gave him time to reflect on his new position, and for the worries to start creeping into his mind. How am I going to manage a whole new troop? What if I am a terrible bodyguard? Did I drain the bathtub before I left?

“Shining! Hey, Shining!” a familiar voice called out. Turning around, he saw Spearhead and Yellow Cake, both friends from boot camp, standing behind him. “We heard the news from Barrel Roll. Wanted to say congratulations before you left,” Yellow Cake said in his thick Applelousa accent. Both ponies saluted their friend. “Lucky you, getting to hang out with the princess all day. Lota stallions would kill for the opportunity to walk around behind the princess all day, if you know what I mean,” Spearhead said, giving the newly minted Corporal a wink.

“SPEAR!” Shining exclaimed. “Not appropriate!”

“What? It's the truth. Just ‘cause you got a special somepony, doesn't mean you can’t admire some nice tail, right? What Picture doesn’t know won't hurt her, long as it's just looking.”

“Even if I wasn’t already in a relationship, which I am, we’re on duty and still in the castle, for Celestia’s sake! Please keep your fantasies to yourself, least till I get out of blast range!”

“Aw, you worry too much Shining. In fact, I bet the Princesses would be flattered if they knew just how many of the guards wished one of them would our marefriend. In fact, I wouldn’t mind telling Celestia her- oof!” Spearhead’s sacrilege came to an abrupt end when Yellow Cake elbowed his friend in between the gaps in his armor, using his earth pony strength to make sure he got the message.

“What he’s trying to say, Shining, is have a safe trip, and keep a close eye on Princess Cadance,” Cake drawled, “don’t let your guard down. You know how sneaky those Zebras can be. Keep your head on a swivel and make it back, ya’ hear?”

“Thanks, guys. You two keep everypony safe while I’m gone, Alright?”

“Will do. Come on, Spear, we gotta finish our patrol.” Yellow Cake led his injured friend down one of the many halls, and Shining watched them go till they turned a corner and disappeared out of sight. Something was bothering him, though. One of the things Spearhead had said.
What Picture doesn’t know won't hurt her. Sun Above, Picture! She doesn’t know I’m leaving! In a panic, he realized he had no idea how long they’d be gone. Roam was far away on the continent of Zebrica, only reachable by ship. The journey alone would take weeks, never mind how long they’d actually be in Roam itself. He ran towards the exit.

I need to speak to Cadance. Maybe I’ll have enough time to write a letter, or to swing by her house and tell her I'm leaving. Heading into the courtyard, he saw Cadance and Lieutenant Barrel Roll standing next to the Royal Coach. Even from the door, he could see the pile of suitcases stacked to the roof in the rear window. Cynically, he wondered if any of his possessions had made it into the carriage at all.

“There you are! We were beginning to wonder if Celestia changed her mind about throwing you in the Dungeon!” Barrel Roll teased. Shining ignored the jab and hurried over to bow in front of Cadance.

“Princess, I have a favor to ask,” he said breathlessly, “Picture doesn’t know about my new position, is there any way we could make a stop on the way? It would only take a minute.”

Cadance shook her head. “I’m sorry, Shining. I’m afraid time is of the essence. If we don’t leave now, we’ll miss the tide."

Shining’s ears fell. “But, Cadance-”

“You heard the Princess, Corporal,” Barrel Roll said, “If you carried so much about Picture, maybe you should have said ‘goodbye’ before you started your shift. That’s how my father always left. ‘Goodbye son. Hopefully I’ll see you tomorrow, if I’m still alive.’ Though the tone of his voice was one of amusement, Shining had spent enough time with Barrel Roll to see that exact farewell more than once.

“Well, maybe I would have if I had known-”

“First rule of being a bodyguard, Corporal, ‘Always be prepared’. Preparation is half the job.”
“Barrel!” Shining yelled at his friend, “This is important!”

“So is the mission, Shining!” Barrel shot back.

“Boys!” Cadance shouted, using just a hint of her Canterlot voice. “That’s enough! Barrel Roll, stop teasing Shining and show him.”

“Spoil sport,” Barrel Roll muttered under his breath, walking over to the door of the carriage.

“Shining,” Cadance said apologetically, “We really do have to get going, we’re on a tight schedule. Now, I know things have been rough between you and Picture recently, and I didn’t want you to stress about saying goodby.” Barrel Roll reached out and opened the door to the Carriage. “So, I took the prerogative of inviting Picture to ride with us.”

Inside sat Picture Perfect, Shining Armor’s marefriend and first love. She waved a wing sheepishly at him through the doorway. “Hey, Shining,” she said, barely above a whisper. Shining Armor, who’d been as tense as a bowstring relaxed immediately when the saw the mare of his affection.

“Perfect! You're here!” He exclaimed as he scrambled into the car. Barrel Roll shook his head playfully at Cadance and followed her into the carriage as it started to move forward.
Shining sat next to Picture and leaned in to give her a kiss. She put a hoof on his chest, stopping him mid pucker. “Shining, could we not do this in front of the princess?”
Shining raised an eyebrow, “You didn’t object to kissing in front of her on our double date. What’s so special about now? We're all friends here.”

“We don’t mind, Picture.” Cadance said cheerfully. “I’m never bothered by two ponies who love each other showing their love to those close to them.”

“I think it's hot,” Barrel said with a sly grin. Shining tried to kick him in the shin and missed.

“I just... I guess I'm feeling a little claustrophobic, that’s all.”

Shining deflated a little but nodded. “Alright, then.” He perked up and wagged his eyebrows at her. “just have to make it up when we get there, then.”

Picture didn’t say anything to that, and an awkward silence fell. Barrel Roll gave a little cough. “So, Shining, how much do you know about Roam?”

Shining Armor frowned. “Not as much as I should. It was covered in my military history class, but since we’ve never fought an official war against them, they kinda brushed over it. Can you give me a refresher?”

“I can!” Cadance chirped, “so way back in the day, 500 or so years ago, Roam used to be a republic. One of the first in the world, actually. Given their prime natural harbor and the fertile-”

“heh, fertile” Barrel Roll snickered.

“-land surrounding the city,” Cadance continued, not acknowledging Barrel, “They grew rapidly, eventually absorbing their neighbors and establishing the Grand Republic of Roam. For a long time, they were the largest economic bloc in the world, with a military force and economy to rival our own.” Shining’s eyebrow popped. That was news to him. As far as he had known, Equestria had been the most prosperous nation to ever exist, at least since the Princess had taken the throne.

“You said they ‘were’ our rivals. What happened?”

“Around 200 years ago, a young general in the army led a rebellion against the official government of Roam. It started small, but over 2 decades they slowly gained ground until the Republican government collapsed and the General crowned himself Emperor of Roam.

“For most of the conflict, Celestia took a decidedly neutral stance, not wanting to make an enemy out of either side. However, as the emperor consolidated his power and began to commit atrocities against his political opposition, Celestia found this stance untenable. Unfortunately, it was too little, too late, and she was unable to tip the balance of the war back in favor of the legitimate government, but it was just enough to anger the new emperor.” She shrugged. “After that, Equestria, and Celestia in particular, became a convenient scapegoat for the people's problems. Not enough food? Celestia stole the grain harvest. Drought? Celestia sent her pegasi to disrupt the rain. Can’t get it up? Celestia herself placed a curse on you.” Cadance gave out a huff in amusement. “it’s ridiculous, really. Celestia has taught me every spell she knows, and not a single impotence spell among them. It's absurd!”

“You hear that Shining? No more blaming Celestia for your problem- ACK!” This time Shining’s kick found its mark, and it wasn’t Barrel Rolls’ shin.

“Shining!” Picture smacked him on the shoulder with her wing, “Apologize, right now!”

“I’m sorry you have the same weak point as every other stallion, Barrel Roll.”

“Shining!”

“I mean, I can fix that for you right here, if you’d like.” He raised his hoof again.

“SHINING!”

“It's fine, Picture,” Barrel Roll squeaked out. “I kinda deserved it. Kinda.”

Cadance, for her part, had covered her muzzle in shock. Or to keep from letting out an unladylike snort. It was definitely one of those.

Seeing his best friend doubled over in pain, Shining took pity on him and apologized more thoroughly. After the shock wore off, Barrel Roll was gracious enough to accept his apology, and the two hugged it out in what the two mares assured them was a very masculine hug. The dispute behind them, the four friends settled in for the rest of Cadance’s explanation.

“Anyways, so that falling out between Equestria and Roam was nearly two hundred years ago. However, even though things were tense, the two nations still maintained an official presence in the others capital... or they did, until someone tried to assassinate the Emperor. Supposedly it was the product of a massive conspiracy, and in typical fashion at each public trial the accused conspirators would swear that Celestia was the ultimate mastermind behind the plot. After that, Roam ejected our embassy, and Celestia responded in kind, and so for over a hundred and fifty years the two nations have refuse official diplomatic communications with each other.

“That is, until last year, when we received a message from the new Emperor of Roam, the great grandchild of the original emperor. It seems he’s been pushing though huge political and economic reforms since he took power, as well as opening old ties with other nations, and we were among the first. As such, he invited Celestia to reopen an embassy in Roam with the intent of normalizing relations between us.”

“And instead of Princess Celestia going to this momentous occasion herself, she decided to send you?” Picture asked, “No offense, but doesn’t that seem like the kind of thing she should handle herself?”

“I can answer that,” said Barrel Roll, “while the reopening is seen as a grand occasion and cause for celebration fit for royalty, our military intelligence was concerned about the prospect of the whole invitation being a ruse to lure Celestia outside of Equestira and neutralize her. And when we figured out how many troops we’d need to send to ensure her safety, it came out to be an impossibly large percentage of our overall forces. So, to resolve the quandary, they suggested that Celestia send the spare,” he nodded to Cadance, “No offense meant, of course.”

“It’s alright, Barrel. Everypony knows I’m just not as important as Celestia.” Her expression hardened slightly, “But I am still a princess, and they still have to respect that.” she looked back and forth between Shining Armor and Barrel Roll, “As do you, outside of this car. Once we arrive, we’ll need to put our best hoof forward.” the two stallions nodded solemnly.

“We will be the very picture of Professionalism, Princess. You have our word,” Shining said solemnly.

Cadance smiled at her fearless escort. “Plus, I get to travel out on my very first mission with my friends, which was more than I could ever hope for. Between all of us, I was starting to wonder if Celestia was going to keep me in the castle forever. As my debut solo mission, this mission means a lot to me as well. If we’re successful, I would become the face of Equestira to Roam, instead of the pony they’ve been taught to hate for generations, which according to our sources will still be a major hurdle even with the ongoing reforms. Once we overcome that stigma, we should be golden!”

Shining Armor listened to Cadance’s words, hiding the trepidation he felt. A nation full of Zebra’s that had a generational, propaganda infused hatred of Equestria, and Celestia in particular? And now he had to keep the pony most like Celestia on the entire planet safe while she balanced delicate negotiations? once again, he wondered just what he got himself into.

While the girls were distracted, Barrel Roll noticed Shining’s expression and leaned over. “Everything alright?” he whispered.

“Wonderful. I just have figure out how to protect Cadance from bad actors in the government and the common citizens. Good thing I’m a seasoned bodyguard, right?” Shining muttered sarcastically.

“Don’t forget the business class. They might see opened trade routes as a threat to their livelihood,” Barrel remarked.

“Of course, how could I forget about yet another group that might want her dead. That will certainly help me sleep tonight.” Shining shook his head slightly. “I don’t know, Barrel, I had a rotten day. Maybe I'm just too tired to focus on this right now.”

“You're in the bodyguard now, Shining. You don’t have time to be too tired.” Shining’s crest fell at these words. He’s right. This is the most important job I'll ever have. I can’t give up before I’ve started. “That being said, we have a couple of weeks to come up with a plan. Why not just enjoy this time with Picture? We won’t see her for a long time after today. Worry about it in a little bit.”

Shining nodded. “Your right. I should enjoy this moment. I just can’t quite shake the feeling that somepony else is making plans of their own right now. Plans that don’t end well for any of us.”

“Hey, ain’t nopony crazy enough to try anything as long as we’re here,” Barrel Roll ginned. “One look at us and any glorious fantasies will evaporate."

If only I could believe that, Shining thought.

The rest of the ride was much more subdued. Shining and Barrel were both tired from their shifts, and it was extremely late by any standard. Well, except maybe the threstrals. One by one, each pony drifted off, sleeping as best they could while sitting up.

Something disturbed Shining enough to force him awake, and he opened his eyes to the Moon glaring through the window into the carriage. It was a stroke of luck, as he realized he was one of the few ponies to have seen Celestia interrupted during the setting. He could tell because the moon was only partially under the horizon, with the head of the Mare in the Moon still visible. As the carriage flew along, Shining gazed up at the mare, thinking of all the legends and stories around the moon and the oft-denied uptick of crime and magical anomalies that the guard dealt with during the phases when the moon was most prominent in the sky. As far as astronomers and natural philosophers could tell, the patten in the moon that looked like a mare was a natural phenomenon caused by an unequal distribution of rock concentrations across the face of the body. And yet, despite being debunked time and time again, rumors and urban legends of the “malevolent moon” had persisted over the last millennia, quietly whispered in the dead of night around campfires and slumber parties.

The words from one of Twilight’s old horror books floated out of the dark corners of his mind and into his consciousness. Gaze not too long into the Eye of the Mare, lest She gaze back. Now the Mare gazed down at the world, peaking over the horizon like a predator stalking for its prey, waiting for it to drop its guard only for a moment. A shiver of ice ran down his spine. No, not the whole world. Just Us.
He reached up and pulled the blinds on the window closed, blocking the view into the cabin. He knew the truth of the matter. The stories were just that: stories to scare foals. The Mare in the Moon wasn’t real. She couldn’t hurt anyone.

But knowing and believing are two very different things.

Chapter 2 - Look before you Leap

A few hours later they came to rest next to the dockyard outside of Seaddle. The City of Seaddle for all its hometown charm and small city feel was a relatively new addition to Equestira, having been founded less than 100 years ago. Though its economy was primarily based on the thousands of trade ships to took refuge in its nearby harbor, the city had developed a quirky-but-welcoming reputation among the denizens of Equestria, which was why Shining could see griffins, a couple of buffalo, and even a thestral working the docks alongside the usual kaleidoscope of ponies. Upon landing, Shining and Barrel Roll opened the doors to find the royal car surrounded by a veritable wall of spears, wing blades, and magic barriers pointing outward, protecting the Princess.

“Got to give them credit for eagerness,” Barrel Roll muttered to Shining. “You stay here, I’ll link up with my second and make sure everything is ready shipside. After that we’ll link you with your unit and get the princess on board.”

“Uh, yeah, sounds good,” Shining said hesitantly. He'd only mostly been paying attention, trying as he was to catch Picture’s eye. Barrel Roll took off into the air like a shot, slamming the door closed with the force of his downdraft. When he was gone, Shining looked back at the princess. “Cadance? Would it be okay if I cast a privacy screen really quick? I’d like to say goodbye to Picture before we leave.”

“Oh, of course! Wait, you can do that?”

“Sure, I can. It's just another kind of shield, only it protects one's dignity rather than one's person.”

“Very well. I shall endeavor to be quiet while you ‘say goodbye’, as it were.” she said with a giggle. Shining smiled appreciatively, then his horn glowed and the entire car except the space between Picture and himself took on a faded appearance.

“There, now no one and see or hear us except you and me.” He took a breath and gave her a lascivious smile that would have made even Cadance blush if she had seen it. “Well, I guess this is it.”

“I guess it is.” Picture said quietly. She glanced at him, then down at the floor, causing his smile to fade.

“I’m going to be gone a while, you know? I just thought... we’d have a good send-off before I left.”

“Shining... I don’t...” Picture put her head in her hooves. “I don’t know how to do this...”

“Do what? What's wrong, Perfect?” Her answer didn’t come, and the longer she sat there, the more worried he grew.
“Picture? Are you alright?” She shook her head and continued staring at the floor. “Can you talk to me?” she shook her head again. “Hey Picture? You know I love you, right?” she nodded quickly. “Well, I'm about to leave for a long time....”

She looked up at him and for the first time he saw the huge tear drops in her eyes. Her eyes were red and swollen, wet trails marking her tears passage down her cheeks and forelegs. He felt his heart break at the sight, and he slowly moved over to sit to her and embraced her in a hug. No longer hidden behind her wings, she began to cry.

“Shining Armor, I love you, I do, I just... I can’t.”

“Can’t what, dear?” He held her tight to his body, as if to squeeze every last bit of pain out of her in liquid form.”

“I can’t explain my feelings. Not now, not like this.” she pointed to the saddlebag next to her. “In the pocket. There's a letter to you. I was hoping I wouldn’t have to give it to you, but... I just, I can’t...”

“It’s okay, dear. I’ll take a look. He reached over and open the pouch, finding the letter buried at the bottom of the saddlebag. He went to open it with his magic when there was a tap-tap on the door. “Sounds like Barrel is back.” he muttered. He looked at the envelope, then back at his distraught marefriend. “Is it okay if I look at this later?”

She nodded. “I’d prefer it, actually.”

“...I have to go now. Are you going to be okay?” she nodded again. Rubbing her back gently, he leaned over and whispered into her ear, “a Kiss for the road?” Without a word, she slowly turned and kissed him softly, lovingly, like she had on their first real date. Then she broke the kiss and pushed him away gently.

“Go.”

The privacy field dropped and Shining looked at Cadence by the door. She looked expectantly at the couple and did a double take when she saw Picture.

“Picture, whatever happened? Did Shining...” she scowled at her Bodyguard. “What did you say to her?”

“I'm fine, Cadance." Picture said as she wiped away the last trace of her weeping. "Shining didn’t do anything wrong. I’m just sad to lose him.”

Shining gave her a long sad look. “I’m going to miss you,” He said quietly.

“I’m going to miss you too.”

There was another knock on the door, louder and definitely more annoyed.

“I don’t think that door is going to hold much longer,” Cadance muttered. “Are you ready, Shining?”

Shining tucked the letter under his armor. “I am.”

“Good. Picture, I've instructed the carriage team to take you straight home, or anywhere else you wish to go between here and Canterlot. Don't hesitate to ask them to stop for something to eat.”

With that, she pushed open the door and stepped out into the sunlight. Shining Armor followed, turned to close the door and paused. “Goodbye, Picture.”

“Goodbye, Shining,” she replied for the final time. Then the door closed and Picture Perfect covered her face again as a single tear fell to the floor.

For all the chaos on the dockyard, the Bodyguards under Shining's command were doing a very good job of keeping the area around the carriage clear. He followed Cadance out into the protective circle and looked at his unit.
Three unicorns, three earth ponies, three pegasi, plus myself makes a full combat squad. Simple enough.

“Princess Cadance-" he looked up to see Barrel Roll hovering above them, "-your stateroom is ready to receive you. With your permission, we’ll move you onboard the Ambassador.”

Cadance nodded and looked to Shining. “I’ll follow your lead, Lieutenant Armor.”

Shining Armor turned to issue an order to his second in command, only to pause and realize with embarrassment that he didn’t know which of his squad was his second. He looked up at Barrel Roll again, who pointed out one of the earth ponies. The earth pony, whose coat was of deep hue of red with a brown mane gave a practiced salute as Shining approached.

“Ready to move on your orders, Lieutenant,” the pony said, his voice husky. He was older then Shining and ever so slightly taller than him. Shining returned the salute, then looked him up and down.

“The Princess is ready, Sergeant... er...”

“Wall, sir. Stone Wall.”

“Sergeant Wall. It’s pretty chaotic out there, so let's set up an Osprey perimeter at two paces and get Princess Cadance aboard.”

“Sir, Yes Sir!” Sergeant Wall glanced at the carriage, specifically the obscene amount of luggage crammed into the rear compartment. “Will we be hauling any other items with us, Sir?" he asked uncertainly.

Shining Armor shook his head. “There's nothing as valuable as the Princess in those suitcases, and in any rate, they’ll need one of the cargo cranes to get everything onboard in a timely manner.”

Cadance frowned. “I’ll have you know, Lieutenant, that everything in those suitcases is absolutely crucial to my mission.”

“Far from me to suggest otherwise, your Highness. I'm certain that absolutely nothing in them would be considered frivolous by anypony here.”

Cadance glared daggers at him. “Just do your job.”

Shining Armor produced a whistle from his pocket and blew a few sharp notes. The unit circled around Cadance, Earth ponies in front to clear the way by bellowing at the dockworkers and physically move them if necessary, followed by the four unicorns and trailed by the pegasi, their wings outstretched to provide cover for Cadance from behind. Even with the Earth Ponies clearing their path, it still took almost 20 minutes to get Cadance safely below deck. With the princess on board, it was just a matter of waiting for the last pieces of luggage and cargo to be stowed, then the Ambassador weighed anchor and set sail for Roam.

After leaving the harbor, Shining Armor dismissed his unit to allow them to set up their bunks and made his way to his own personal room aboard the ship, called a stateroom. Normally, as a newly minted officer Shining would be quartered in the Officer Quarters in the stern of the ship, but as Chief Bodyguard to the princess, special accommodations had been made to allow him to bunk midship in one of the small rooms next to Cadance’s. Setting down his saddlebags, he dumped the contents unceremoniously into a huge pile on the bed and began to rummage through them, then paused when he heard a knock on his door. “Come in.”

Barrel Roll opened the door, a sly smile on his face. “Not too bad,” he mused, looking around the room. “Pretty pitiful compared to my room, but at least you’re close to the bathrooms.”

“I believe that’s for Cadance’s benefit, not mine.” Shining grinned, “she may be a princess, but she still has a bladder the size of a pea.”

“If that’s the tradeoff for immortality, then sign me up. So what if I have to visit the bathroom every hour? I’ve got time.”

Cadance poked her head around the doorframe. “Trust me, Immortality is a lot less appealing when you feel like you spend a quarter of your life in the ladies room.”

“And yet you manage.”

She huffed and looked at the pile on Shining’s bed. “Nothing that anypony would consider frivolous in that mess I hope?"

“I’ll have you know when I’m done this room will be immaculate, Cadance. It's all a part of the process.”

"I'll believe it when I see it. Regardless, would you both care to join me for dinner? I think they’re serving Hayburgers on rye buns tonight.”

“They’re serving heyburgers to you, your royal-ness.” Barrel Roll said. “We’re eating in the mess with the rest of the guards. I promise you they won’t be serving us hayburgars.”

“I don’t know, I could really go for a hayburger,” Shining mused aloud. His stomach weighed in with a low growl, and he realized that he hadn’t eaten anything all day. “Great, now you got me thinking about food.” He reached into his pile and pulled out a granola bar, peeled off the paper and ate the whole thing in one bite.

Cadance raised an eyebrow. “Is that how you always eat? Inhaling your food like you haven’t eaten in weeks?”

“I’m in the Royal Guard. Is there any other way to eat?”

She pursed her lips, then nodded. “Alright then. If that’s the way you're going to be, we’ll start your lessons with table manners.”

Shining’s eyes bugged out as the granola suddenly caught in his throat. He coughed as he choked it the rest of the way down. “Lessons? What lessons?”

“Your etiquette lessons, of course. We can’t have you embarrassing Celestia or I at a function. You need proper training on how to handle yourself around high society types.”

Shining shook his head. “There must be some misunderstanding. I’m just the bodyguard, I don’t do interaction or chit-chat with the big-wigs. That's your job.”

“Ah, but that’s where your wrong, Shining. Celesita has taken pride for literally centuries about having the classiest guards on the continent at all her parties. I’m not about to ruin that because you can’t chew your food properly.” She gave him a grin that was just a little too wide for comfort. “And since we only have a few weeks, you’d better be fast on the uptake. You wouldn’t want to start a war because you insulted the host by picking up the wrong fork, now would you?”

“That’s not a real thing, Cadance,” Shining deadpanned.

“How would you know?” She quipped. He opened his mouth to say something clever, only to close it again without saying anything. “Tomorrow, forecastle deck at 3:00 and not a minute later.” Her tone made it clear attendance was mandatory. When she had left, Shining looked at Barrel Roll.

“That’s not a real thing, right?”

His closest friend just shrugged. “I guess you’re going to find out.”

The mess hall was the single largest room on the Ambassador, capable of comfortably seating hundreds of ponies. Right now, it was serving the guards who were under the command of Barrel Roll to serve as the garrison for the new Embassy in Roam, as well as the nine Bodyguards under Shining's command. The two lieutenants stood inside the door to the mess, taking in the organized chaos and getting a feel for the attitude of the soldiers under their command. The guards as a whole gave off a lack of concern that was palpable. Whatever they were thinking individually, at least for the moment they had confidence that the mission was bound to be successful, or at least not particularly dangerous.

One of the guards closest to the commanders stood from their seat and made eye contact with Barrel Roll. She immediately came to attention and saluted them. “Commander on Deck!” In a single fluid motion, the ponies of the guard stood and turned to face the door way, saluting their superior officers.

“I think we’ve been noticed,” Shining Armor chuckled.

Barrel Roll smiled as he returned the salute. “At Ease." There was a rustle as the guards dropped the salute and adjusted their stance to stand more comfortably. “As you all know, I am Lieutenant Barrel Roll, commander of military forces for this mission. I’d like to introduce to my co-commander Lieutenant Shining Armor, head of the Princess’s personal bodyguard unit.” There was a rowdy ‘Woop!’ as several of the bodyguards reminded their comrades of their attendance. “While I am the operational commander, you are to follow any orders he may give so long as they do not countermand my own.” He placed a hoof on Shining’s shoulder. “What’s more, you are to follow any orders that he may give in regards to security even if it goes against your orders. Don't worry about being reprimanded, we’ll sort out the details afterwards.” He turned to Shining Armor with a mischievous expression. “Now, what many of you are not aware of is that Lieutenant Shining Armor and I are like brothers, have been since we were colts.” His grin grew wider as Shining’s cheeks took on a tinge of pink. “And like any good brother, I like to brag about him when and where I can to anypony who will listen, so I thought I'd take advantage of my captive audience to tell you a little bit about your new Lieutenant.” Shining Armor gave his friend a pleading look that Barrel Roll ignored.

“For instance, many of you probably heard about the incident years ago where a young colt blocked an enraged noble from attacking Princess Celestia herself. That colt is none other than the Lieutenant.” Admiring eyes swung to look at Shining Armor, taking in the new information. “That was the day he earned his cutie mark. From there he went on to graduate as second in his V.I.P protection class and won high marks in the officer academy, earning the attention of the Princesses themselves. Perhaps most impressive, however, is that Lieutenant Armor is a talented battlemage and holds the unique honor of being the greatest Shield Caster in Equestrian history, nearly equaling Princess Celestia herself.”

That set the crowd of guards abuzz. Every pony know that Celestia was an immensely powerful magician in her own right, having studied magic and expanded on her power for millennia. For anyone to come close in any regard was remarkable.

Shining Armor’s face was beat red with embarrassment. He’d always hated being the center of attention, and now Barrel Roll was putting him on display in front of the whole unit. He knew what his friend was doing, talking him up to stave off questions about his fitness to command, seeing how he’d jumped several ranks overnight. It hadn't escaped his attention that almost every guard in the mess was visibly older then both Barrel Roll and himself, and unlike his friend, he hadn't had months of leading these ponies to win them over. By expounding on his accomplishments, Barrel Roll was trying to smooth over any bubbling resentment among the ranks that much more experienced guards had been passed over to allow for his promotion. It still left him feeling awkward as everyone sized him up, modifying their initial opinions of him with the new information.

“And if all that wasn't enough to shame you lazy sods, he has a hot fillyfriend to boot! How he can balance all of that and still find time to please a mare I'll never understand.”

“Some of us can please several at once you know!” One of the stallions hollered.

Shining gave a sly smile. “30 seconds is not sufficient to please anypony.” The crowd laughed and cheered as the outspoken stallion slunk down into his seat.

Barrel Roll spotted the corner of Picture’s note sticking out of Shining’s chest piece where he’d tucked it earlier and his eyes gleamed. “Speaking of pleasure, I think I spy a love note from his filly friend tucked away from later. Glad I’m not bunking with him tonight!”

The crowd laughed again while a few of the bawdy members blew wolf whistles. “Read it!” someone cried.

“Read it here!” a chorus of agreement flowed through the soldiery as dozens of ponies cheered him on. Shining Flushed once again with embarrassment, the pressure from the crowd building in his chest, giving him a strange high and bending his will to their desire. Barrel Roll had raised his hoof above his head, trying to reestablish control of the crowd when Shining pulled it back down.

“What the buck, why not. Who wants to read this with me?!” Shining cried out. The room erupted with cheers once again as Barrel Roll gave his friend a concerned look.

“Shiny...” he whispered “I don’t think Picture would appreciate -”

“What Picture doesn't know won't hurt her,” Shining whispered back, “besides, it’s Picture, how bad could it be?”

Opening the envelop, he unfolded the script and found the top of the page. “Alright, here we go! Dear Shining, I’m sorry you had to find out like this, but if you're reading this, you already know something is up. I’m done, Shining. I’m done pretending I’m okay with us, with your work...” he trailed off as he read through the rest the letter to himself, his heart sinking lower and lower with every word. When he was finished, he stared at the page, unable to process what he had read.

It wasn’t until someone coughed that Shining realized he was still standing in the mess. The room was quiet enough to hear a pin drop, everyone looking at him with expressions as awkward and uncomfortable as he felt in that moment. He stiffened, calmly folded the letter and tucked it back into his armor. “As you were,” he said in the best command voice he could muster, then turned and walked out the door without waiting for it to be acknowledged. As soon as he thought no one could see him, he began to sprint back to his room, the tears starting to fall as he ran.

In the mess, everyone continued to stare at the door after he left. Barrel Roll, taken aback by Shining’s sudden departure, looked at the guards and repeated the order. “You heard the Lieutenant. As you were!” There was a flurry of movement as everyone in the room scrambled to focus on anything that wasn’t the hallway where Shining had bolted.

Shining sat on the floor by to his bed pulled out the letter form Picture. Wiping his eyes dry, he read it once again.

Dear Shining,
I’m sorry you had to find out like this, but if you're reading this, you already know something is up. I’m done, Shining. I’m done pretending I’m okay with us, with your work. I’m done sitting by myself on a ‘date’ waiting for a coltfriend that has been called away on an emergency. Now, once again you’ve been spirited away without warning, gone for Celestia knows how long. I’m done wondering every time we say goodbye if I'll ever see you alive again. I can’t live like this for the rest of my life.

Yesterday, the cute stallion in the store across the street asked if I was single, and I told him I was, because you and me aren't a couple anymore. We haven’t really been for months, and I think you know that. You certainly don’t act like it, leaving without telling me where you are going or when you get back, hiding the details of your missions from me. We promised not to keep secrets from each other, but you’ve never been honest about the danger being in the guard has put you in.

I wrote this to tell you I’m not going to wait for you. I’ve been waiting since you graduated the military academy for something to change, and I finally realized that it’s not going to get better. You’re a military stallion through and through, Shining, and I don’t want that life, so I’m setting you free.

Don't bother looking me up when you get back. I’m moving to Manehatten in a few months to enroll in the film school there. I hope you and Barrel Roll can forgive me for leaving like this, but I don’t think I can face the two of you and the Princess. Knowing her, she’d do everything in her power to keep us together, and I'm afraid she might succeed. I’m not going to risk it. I do hope you find somepony who loves you enough to wait for you, it just can't be me.
With a heavy heart,
Picture

A knock at the door startled him out of his trance. As the letter fell to floor he looked up and saw Barrel Roll standing in his door frame, a package under his wing. Shining grunted an acknowledgement, not trusting his voice to speak. Barrel Roll sat next to his friend and slid the letter over to read its contents, his crest falling as he got to the end of the letter. He put a hoof on Shining's shoulder “I'm sorry, bro.” Shining just shook his head slightly, tears beginning to fall once again as Barrel Roll unwrapped his package, revealing a full bottle of liquor. “I was saving this for when we got to Roam to remind us of home,” he said softly “Then I figured maybe you wanted to forget home for a little while instead.”

“I don’t understand, Barrel,” Shining said through the tears, “Can it really be over, just like that?”

Barrel Roll draped his wing over Shining Armor’s shoulders and offered him the bottle. “I don’t know, Shiny. Maybe she’ll come to her senses.”

Shining took a sip out of the bottle and coughed. “Buck, that’s strong.”

“I got it ‘cause it would remind us of home, not because it went down easy.”

The two of them sat on the floor long into the night talking and drinking till the bottle ran dry, then both gave in to their pain and began to cry; Shining for his lost love and Barrel Roll for his brother until at last they could weep no more. Then and only then did they surrender to their exhaustion and fall into a dreamless sleep.

Author's Note

Added sex and profanity tags for some of the suggestive content in this chapter.

Chapter 3 - There are no Coincidences

“Shining Armor, WAKE UP!”

He jolted upright, bumping into the table and knocking over one of his wine glasses. “Present!”

Across the table, Princess Cadance’s normally bubblegum pink was shaded with red in her face and wings. The seething anger in her eyes painted a stark contrast with the prim royal regalia she had donned for their meal. Shining hadn’t seen her this angry since she’d discovered one of her old coltfriends had cheated on her with one of the other noble mares living in Canterlot.

“Am I boring you, Lieutenant Armor?”

“N-no, your highness.”

“Are you certain? It looked like you had just discovered a new sleep aid, the way your head was bobbing.”

“My apologies, Princess-”

“I don’t want your apology, Lieutenant, I want your attention!” Her horn glowed pink with magic, and Shining Armor watched as the wine glass righted itself and the crimson liquid filling it ran back up the stem and pooled in the basin. “When your name came up as in the list of candidates for the position as my bodyguard, it was I who advocated on your behalf because I thought of all the ponies who could do the job, I thought as your friend you at least would take me seriously!”

Shining Armor flinched as Cadance let loose her diatribe, trying not to look as pathetic as he felt. Though the area of the table placement had been cordoned off from the rest of the ship, the sailors on duty were staying much farther away then they needed to. He didn't blame them. The lessons had not been going well and Cadance had been getting more and more frustrated with him. His falling asleep at the table had set a match to the pile of kindling he’d been building up for several days.

“Cadance-”

“That’s Princess Cadance to you.”

Ouch. “Princess Cadance, I offer my sincerest apologies to you. I’ve had difficulty resting since we came aboard the Ambassador. I’m afraid it has negatively impacted my performance aboard this ship.”

It was the truth. In the couple of days since they’d left Equestria, anytime he’d had a quiet moment, his thoughts had turned to Picture Perfect and the letter she’d given him. Having read it a dozen times now, he could still scarcely believe its contents. If she hadn’t given it to him in person, he’d think it was a bad prank from Barrel Roll. His guards had been first to notice his lack of energy when rather than leading them in their drills as was expected, he’d instructed them from the sidelines. Barrel Roll had noticed as well, but had declined to give him anything to help him fall asleep, alcohol or otherwise.

“And what is the source of your restlessness? If your room is not to your liking, we could find you a new stateroom.”

“My room is fine, your highness, it’s something else bothering me.”

“Well, what is it?”

“It’s of a more personal nature, your highness.”

“Anything that effects your job performance is not just personal to you, Lieutenant. Now, are you going to tell me what’s wrong, or do I need to write to my Aunt to ask for a new guard?” Shining Armor sighed and closed his eyes. He’d made Barrel Roll promise not to say anything to Cadance, claiming he could keep his emotions and his work separate. Obviously, that hadn’t been the case. “Well?”

“Picture broke up with me.”

The change in Cadance’s attitude was as sudden as it was drastic. In an instant her smoldering anger had transformed into pure sympathy. “Oh! Oh, Shining, I’m so sorry. I did not know-”

“I asked Barrel Roll not to tell you,” he said with a shrug. “I thought I could keep it bottled up and get through it, but...”

“Some pain is too great to keep hidden, Shining. Especially when it concerns those closest to us.” Her eyes were full of sorrow as she spoke, her voice as gentle as a satin blanket. “How are you holding up?”

“Not well. It’s... I still don’t believe it sometimes. Like at any second I’m going to wake up and be back in Seaddle, or in the Palace barracks.”

Cadance nodded. “That’s a common feeling after a major breakup when the separation is not mutual.” She paused to reflect on the past several days. “Is that why she was so upset in Seaddle?”

He nodded. “I think so. She was trying to tell me in the carriage, but I didn’t understand till I read her letter.”

“A Letter?” Shining explained how she had given him the letter and how he had read it, then recited it to her from memory. “That sounds very... “

“Final?”

“Indeed. She knows me too well. I would have endeavored to counsel the you two back together if she had said anything definite to me.”

Something about that stuck with Shining, but he pushed it to the back of his mind for later. “So, you thought we were a good match for each other?”

“I thought you two were a fabulous couple!” She paused as one of her servants delivered a hot tea. “Was everything she described in the letter accurate?” she stirred the tea ever so slightly. “Have you been concealing your whereabouts and missions from her?”

Shining’s ears flattened and he looked away. “I just didn’t want her to worry about me. With my special talent, I got called up on some of the more dangerous missions that the guard was sent on.”

“And so instead of letting her worry about your safety, as is warranted, she was concerned not just with your safety, but also with your lack of trust in her. A lack of trust she began to reciprocate.”

Shining felt his neck flush. “I was trying to do the right thing!”

“And in doing so did exactly the wrong thing.” She sipped from her teacup. “Don’t be too hard on yourself, Shining. Relationships are complicated and messy, and mistakes are common, especially in first relationships.”

“That doesn’t make me feel any better, Princess.”

“No, I don’t suppose that would.” She sipped her tea again. “If you want, I could write to her, see if she would be open to reconciling when we return to Equestria.”

His heart nearly jumped out of his chest and did a jig on the table. “You would do that?”

“For two friends? Of course! Like I said, you both make a cute couple, I’d hate to see it end like this.”

Shining nodded vigorously. “Yes, please! If you could convince her-”

Cadance held up a hoof, “You understand that I cannot promise anything?” He nodded again. “Then I shall send it by Dragonfire this evening.” She finished the last of her tea and set it down gracefully. For the first time since opening the letter, Shining gave a small smile.

“Doesn’t tea come after the main course?” He asked slyly.

Cadance returned his smile. “So, you were paying attention.”

“I wasn’t completely out of it.”

“Well, then, my faithful student, there might be hope for you yet.”

That evening, as the last light of the sun was fading over the horizon, Shining found Barrel Roll at the stern of the ship, looking through a pair of binoculars to the southwest. “I never took you for a star gazer, Barrel.”

Barrel Roll lowered the binoculars but still kept a watchful eye on the ocean. “This morning the standing Watch saw a ship traveling behind us, nothing unusual in and of itself. We're still fairly close to home, so we’re bound to come across some traffic.” He raised the binoculars again and scanned the sea. “What is unusual is that it remained in that same spot all day till a few minutes ago, which means it’s traveling at the same speed and heading as us.”

Shining’s ear flicked. “Pirates?”

“Not likely. We're still too close to the mainland for them to operate safely. It could be a courier trying to catch us, but if that was the case, they should have gotten closer, not held their relative position.”

Shining shook his head softly. “Cadance told me earlier today that she’s tied in to the Dragonfire network. If there was news urgent enough to send a courier, we would have heard it by now.”

“So, then it’s just a coincidence,” Barrel Roll stated firmly.

“You know what the Guard says about coincidences.”

“There aren’t any.”

The two sat in silence for several minutes, contemplating the scenario they found themselves in. Finally Barrel Roll spoke up.

“So how did the topic of the Dragonfire network come up? Seems an odd conversation piece for tea and cookies.”

“Cadance offered to mediate between Me and Picture, and she mentioned she could send the offer using Dragonfire.”

Barrel Roll grunted non-committedly. “How’d she find out?” Shining explained what had happened during his etiquette lessons, and the talk Cadance had given him about relationships. “Well, having the Princess of Love in your corner can’t hurt your chances.”

“Yeah.”

He bumped Shining with his wing. “She’ll come around, alright? She still loves you; I know she does. She just needs some time.”

Shining just nodded and kept staring in the direction Barrel Roll had indicated where the mystery ship was seen. “What do you want to do about that boat?”

“For now? Nothing. They’re too far away to catch us without teleporting the ship and all of its crew. We’ll post extra watchers tonight and see where it is in the morning. Hopefully it will have wandered off.”

He sounded exactly as confident as Shining felt about the likelihood of that happening.

Shining woke up suddenly from his first full night of sleep in over a week to a forceful knock on his door. He checked the time as he walked over to open it. Ten minutes past sunrise. The door opened to Barrel Roll already in uniform, flanked by a pair of guards. “They brought friends.”

In the light of day, assisted by the binoculars, Shining could see the topmast of the ship that had been following them since yesterday. According to Barrel Roll, it hadn’t moved at all relative to them, which confirmed that it was indeed tailing the Ambassador. He swung his binoculars to the south and saw the tips of two more masts, the ships themselves staying below the horizon. Probably trying to stay hidden till they were ready. The question was, ready for what?

“Can we go any faster?”

Barrel Roll shook his head. “I already directed the captain to put on as much speed as he could during the night and to try and shake them. They kept with us.”

“So, they’re faster than we are-”

“Which means if they wanted to catch us, they could. So why wait?”

Shining felt a shiver run down his spine. “Why else? They’re waiting for the rest of the fleet to arrive.”

Barrel Roll mulled over his words. “Whatever their intentions, they can’t be friendly or they would have approached us by now. I'll consult with the captain and weigh our options, but if they outrun us, there's no way to avoid them on the open ocean.” He glanced at Shining. “Should we tell Princess Cadance?”

Shining hesitated, then shook his head. “I’ll tell her that we spotted a few ships, but they’re too far away to threaten us.”

“Technically, that is true.” Barrel raised his own pair of binoculars. “And when that changes?”

“If that changes, I shall inform her myself directly.”

“I’ll put the word out in the guard to not get comfortable just yet. If those ships opened their sails, we could be in a battle by sunrise tomorrow.”

Shining did his best to give his undivided attention to Cadance, especially after the previous day to make up for lost time, but he found it difficult to think about anything but contingences and possible events over the next few days. Fortunately, he managed to follow though the proper steps until he reached for his red wine glass when the white wine was being served.

“Did you sleep well last night, Lieutenant?”

Shining frowned as Cadance’s words. “I’m sorry?”

Cadance pointed at the wine glass held aloft in his magic. “Your wine glasses. That’s the first time since we started that you have confused them.”

“Oh, right.” He switched glasses absentmindedly. “Is this correct?”

“Better.” They continued their pretend meal, Shining drawing on half memories and guesses to fudge his way through the process as Cadance watched. After a few more minutes of playing pretend, Cadance waved away the waiters standing outside the cordon. “I think that’s enough table etiquette. You still have some work to do, but I think you know enough that we can focus on other things now.”

“Okay.”

Cadance leaned over the table and touched the cleats of her hooves together, staring at Shining like she was trying to read his mind. “I thought next we could work on proper greetings and pronunciation of titles.”

“Sure.”

She watched as he continued to eat his pretend meal, oblivious to her stare. “I’m looking for somepony to sleep with tonight, and I was wondering if you were available.”

“Sounds good.”

She sighed and pulled the fork away from him. “Alright, Lieutenant, what's on your mind this time?”

“What makes you think-”

“Knock it off, Shining. I can tell you’re still distracted. Less distracted than you have been but not all here yet.” She rubbed her temples. “Is it about Picture?”

He hesitated, then nodded slowly. “That’s part of it. Have you-”

“I sent the message last night like I promised.”

“And have you heard anything?”

She shook her head. “Once the message reaches the Dragonfire hub, it’s sent to the regular mail service for final delivery. As expensive as it is to send a message using Dragonfire, it really isn’t any quicker than the postal service unless you need to send the message really, really far or you're sending it directly to somepony.”

“Why didn’t you send it direct, then?”

“That requires a bit of prearranged spellwork that I don’t have with Picture. I could send the message to Celestia, but I don’t think it would be well received or even understood.” She began to gather her dishes together to indicate to the staff that she was finished with her ‘meal’. “I did give instructions to the postal service that the return letter was to be forwarded by Dragonfire to me, so we should hear from her in the next few days when her letter reaches the hub. Does that help?”

“Thank you, Princess. I will relax till her response is due,” he said, obviously not relaxing in the slightest.

Cadance sighed and stood up from the table. “Very well then. I’ll see you here same time tomorrow.”

“Princess, before you leave, there’s something I need to discuss with you.”

Cadance cocked an eyebrow. “My offer wasn’t serious, Shining.”

He gave her a befuddled look. “Offer?”

“When I said... oh, never mind. What is it?”

“It has to do with our security protocol.”

Cadance slowly sat back down in her seat, her face neutral. “Is there a threat against me?”

“Not one specifically that I know of.”

“Then what do you want to discuss?”

“I wanted to go over what you should do if the Ambassador was engaged in hostilities with one or more other vessels with enough force to threaten the integrity of the ship.”

“So, if we went into battle.”

“Yes.”

Cadance flipped her bangs and crossed her forelegs. “I’m supposed to wait in my stateroom until the fighting is over.”

“And if it looks like the Ambassadormay lose the fight?”

“I’ll follow the orders from the captain to abandon ship.”

Shining frowned. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”

“Lieutenant, I will not abandon these ponies to their fate. If there is anything at all I could do-”

“The best thing you could do for everypony on this ship would be to escape, Princess!”

Cadance stormed out of her chair, "No! No, that’s what Celestia says would be the best thing, but that doesn’t do anything for you or Barrel Roll or-”

“Cadance, we are more than willing to die to protect you!”

“Well then be less eager, Shining! Nopony is going to die for me, not while I have a say in the matter!”

“You don’t get a say in this, Princess. Our duty to you is something nopony can tell us to not to do. Not even you.”

“Rule Zero, Lieutenant.”

Shining tilted his head, puzzled. “Rule Zero? What is that?”

“Rule Zero says ‘The Princess has the final say in all matters, including military’. In other words, what the princess on scene says, goes, so take that self-sacrifice nonsense and stuff it.”

“Princess...”

“That is my final say on the matter, Lieutenant. Out of curiosity, what prompted this question?”

Shining waved his hoof noncommittally. “Our lookouts spotted a few ships in the distance, and it reminded me to go over the procedure. That’s all.”

Cadance looked directly into his eyes. “And there is no threat?”

Shining shook his head slowly. “None yet.” Cadance didn’t break her stare for a full minute before she blinked and gave a little sigh.

“Alright, Lieutenant. I’m feeling rather tired. We’ll pick this up tomorrow. She stepped away from the table and opened her wings to take off, then looked back at him over her shoulder. “Yet.”

Over the next few days, Shining Armor watched as three more ships joined in the pursuit of the Ambassador. By now everyone onboard knew that they were being followed by what was probably an enemy fleet and that they couldn’t outrun them. As they hadn’t taken any overtly hostile actions though, the routine on board the ship were surprisingly normal, with the exception that the Royal Guards began to run damage control drills three times a day. Shining Armor continued his lessons, getting a more in-depth education on the history of Roam and it social and political structure, how to tell if you were speaking to a noble or a wealthy merchant, the latest intelligence reports from the few sources Equestria had in the country, and more.

On the morning of the fifth day, Shining was in the mess with the rest of the bodyguard enjoying a breakfast of oatmeal and dates. It was after the regular mealtime for the military contingent, so the hall was mostly empty, with Shining Armor and his unit making up the bulk of the ponies eating. There wasn’t much in the way of banter this morning, and even with so much empty space the tension in the air made the room feel more claustrophobic. That tension came to a head when a sailor ran up to him and gave him a salute. “Message from Major Barrel Roll, Sir.” He held out the scrap of paper to the Lieutenant, who accepted it with a salute of his own. He glanced at it, then set the message face down on the table, shoveled the rest of his oatmeal into his mouth and took off for the door. When he was gone, Sergeant Stone Wall reached over and picked up the paper Shining Armor had left. The message had consisted of two words: They’re Coming.

Chapter 4 - The Princess has the Final Word

Shining Armor trotted up to Barrel Roll on the aft castle deck. “I got your message.” He pulled his own binoculars out and scanned for the enemy. It didn’t take long. The hulls of the ships were visible now, their sails run out to full size to allow for maximum speed. All six vessels were approaching in a reverse U formation that would let four of the six ships pepper the Ambassador with their broadside ballista while the last two come close enough to grapple and board her. “Is that all of them?”

“I’ve got pegsai running recon on the fleet. We haven’t seen any more than these six.”

“How many combatants are we looking at?”

Barrel Roll did a quick calculation in his head. “No less than seven hundred, though they can only board us with two ships at a time.”

“Versus our three hundred, and two hundred non-combatants.. Not the kind of battle I’m a fan of.”

“Sure you are, you just prefer the numbers to be flipped.”

Shining Armor gave him a grimace. “Got me there. So, who are they? Griffins? Zebras? I can’t imagine you could find that many pony pirates across the entire coastline.”

“You’d be surprised, but no. Best we can tell these guys are from Klugetown, a pirate haven south of Equestira.”

“Klugetown, huh? Never heard of it. Maybe I’ll pay it a visit someday.”

“Not many have. It’s a wrenched place, full of scum and villainy. Stay away if at all possible.”

The sound of many sets of hooves on the stairs behind them caught Shining’s attention. He turned to see his unit all standing attention, not looking at anything in particular. “Standing by for your orders, Sir,” Stone Wall said. Even now, in the face of a deadly engagement the stallion looked completely unflappable.

“Sergeant, alert the princess that we are expecting to engage the enemy in...” he glanced at Barrel Roll, hoping he knew how long they had to wait.

“About eight hours, if the wind holds up.”

“...Eight hours. We'll go to full alert status soon and she’ll need to remain in her stateroom when that happens.” A thought crossed his mind. “Actually, belay that order. I need to head down and don my armor anyways; I’ll deliver the message myself. You all get some rest, then meet me in the mess in six hours.”

The nine bodyguards saluted and marched back down the stairs, the two lieutenants watching them go. “Why did you tell them to rest?” Barrel Roll asked in a low voice.

“Because they don’t have any damage control duties, and they’ll just be in the way when we go to full alert. Plus, I want them as fresh as possible. The way this fight is shaping up, we’ll need every advantage we can get.”

“I think you misunderstand the power dynamic here, Lieutenant." Cadance chided. "You don’t get to confine me to my quarters.” She made a point to lounge against his doorframe as she spoke, watching as he girded his armor.

“Cadance, staying in you room while the sailors do their work is the best way to keep you safe, and with you safe, I can focus on doing what I do best to help everyone.”

She glanced at the floor, biting her lip as she considered her words. “What if I offered to surrender? Just me. Alone, I’m worth the ransom of an entire kingdom. They’d be fools to turn down an offer like that when they risk everything trying to capture the ship.”

Shining suppressed the urge to laugh. He knew she wasn’t joking. “It could work, if not for the fact that Princess Celestia would skin every one of us alive when she found out we handed you over to pirates to save ourselves”

Cadance looked indignant at his words. “Celestia would never do anything so remotely barbaric!” Her expression softened, “Though she probably would turn all of you into stone in her rage.”

“Yeah, like the statues in her garden, right?” He expected her to refute the urban legend, to bluster and correct his false assertion.

Dead. Silence.

He turned to look at her. “Right, Cadance?” He asked in a small voice.

She shook her head slowly and raised a hoof to her lips, signaling him never to say a word.

His jaw dropped and he stared at her, dumbfounded.

She held her pose for a few seconds, then a smile cracked though her facade. "You should see the look on your face right now!” She giggled, letting out another unladylike snort. Shining Armor flushed. He tried to play it off, to tell her he wasn't in the mood for her jokes, but he started to giggle along with her. His reaction egged on her on, and she laughed so hard she lost her balance, slipped down the doorframe and flopped onto her side, her wing jutting out at an odd angle which caused her to laugh even more.

Shining couldn’t help it. He started to giggle like he was a colt again. Soon enough both of them were on the floor laughing at the absurdity of it all. For a few minutes they weren’t a Princess and her Lieutenant, or a Bodyguard and his Charge, they were just two friends trying to survive a terrible situation. Despite the circumstances, it was a moment both would remember fondly for the rest of their lives.

The ships were close enough to make out the individuals running on deck, clearing them for action. On board the Ambassador, five hundred souls sent up silent prayers in hopes of seeing another sunrise. It would be dark in a few hours, dangling a faint hope of escape for the survivors, but Shining suspected that the battle would be decided one way or another before that happened. He knew Cadance had appraised Princess Celestia on their situation, and that the Princess had sent the only help she could, a message that read “Good Luck.”

Now he stood alongside Barrel Roll and the Captain of the Ambassador, watching the enemy inexorably make their way closer. In minutes they would be in the outer engagement envelopes for the ballista, and then the fight would be on. The three unicorn bodyguards stood behind him on deck. He'd sent his six non-unicorns to guard the Princess’s room. Ostensibly he’d put them there as the last line of defense if all else failed, but their true purpose was to ensure she made it off the ship if the battle took a turn for the worse. “I guess this is the part where we make a heroic speech to the troops,” he said.

“Now’s about the right time for it,” Barrel Roll agreed.

“As the military commander of the mission, I differ to your seniority.”

“Ah, but as the personal bodyguard to the Princess, you speak with an authority no mortal could possibly match.”

“Oh, for Celestia’s sake, just flip a damn coin, will ya?” the Captain gruffed. "You wait any longer to get started and you'll be able to give you speech to the enemy as well."

The two looked at each other. “Winner gets to do the next one?”

“Agreed.”

A coin was procured and flipped, and both lieutenants crouched over it, trying to gauge how it would land. “Damn.” Shining muttered.

“Don’t worry, buddy, you’ll be great. Doesn’t your lesson plan include some public speaking? Maybe this will count towards that.”

“Shut up.”

Shining stood at the rail overlooking the main deck of the ship. Everywhere on-board soldiers and sailors alike looked to him with baited breath, waiting for him to tell them everything was going to be okay, eager to believe the lie.

He wanted to give them that desperate hope, that promise that the enemies were weaklings and cowards that would run as soon as they encountered serious resistance, that all they would make it home to their families.

But he couldn’t.

So he told them the truth.

“Soldiers of Equestria, Hear me! In a few minutes, we shall come to grips with the enemy, a foe that has us out numbered and out matched three-to-one in numbers and equipment. I want to promise you that their superior firepower is meaningless, that we will cut through them like a scythe through a harvest, but I think too much of you to tell you such transparent lies. This will be a difficult battle, one with opponents who possess serious advantages over us, but that is not where the heart of the matter lay. The fact is this: In the hold of this ship rests one of the most precious beings on the face of the world, Your Princess!

“It is our privilege and sworn duty to protect her at all costs, and to send any who would harm so much as a hair on her head to an early grave. For her sake, we will fight to the last. We will kill all who stand against us, and as we fall, we shall drag down our foe to Tartarus with us. Who’s with me!?!” There was a murmur of agreement and a few cheers, but overall, the effect was underwhelming. Not quite the reaction I was hoping for. “Also, drinks are on me when we get to Roam!” With one voice the crowd roared and brandished their weapons, ready for anything. Note to self, lead with the promise of free alcohol next time.

He walked back to stand beside his closest friend. "Is it bad if I kinda hope we lose now?” he muttered.

Barrel Roll shook his head solemnly, but didn't even try to suppress his grin.

The battle began when the four flanking ships fired a volley of ballista bolts, each one as long as a pony nose-to-tail. Against a lesser vessel they would have been devastating, but the Ambassador was no ordinary ship. She'd been reinforced with both magic and metal plating so the deadly spears simply glanced off the sides or burrowed harmlessly into the deck. Thanks to the their own battlemages smaller shields, there were no serious casualties from the barrage. The ballista onboard retuned fire, aiming for the enemy portholes and sails to force them to slow down or fall behind. This went on for several minutes, with the Ambassador’s ballista crews knocking out several of their counterparts.

After multiple volleys with no discernable effect, the enemy switched tactics and began loading canasters with hundreds of ball bearings and darts in an arching shot to fall at lethal velocities on to heads of their hapless victims. This was what Shining had been waiting for. When he saw the cloud of projectiles coming, he conjured a shield to cover the entire deck from above, deflecting any that would have landed among the crew. Because he had waited for the switch, all four ships had fired in a single attack, which meant Ambassador was free to rain down fire on its enemies while they reloaded. A second volley was fired to similar effect, prompting the enemy to change tactics once again. The hostile vessels moved closer to the Ambassador, angling their weapons to fire across the deck trying to sweep it clear of defenders, rather than the plunging shots meant to scatter across the deck and rob the crew of effective cover.

Their next shots were staggered, with the ships to Ambassador’s port side launching the first attacks. Because the attack had lacked coordination, Shining Armor was easily able to deflect fire from each ship in turn. When it became clear that they had yet to be any damage beyond the cosmetic to their target, there was a brief pause as the captains of the encroaching ships conferred with signal flags, then the attack was renewed, this time with all four ships firing in unison. This time some shots landed, as Shining Armor was forced to pick a side that he judged as a greater threat and angle his shield to deflect those shots. Projectiles began to strike the hull and deck of the Ambassador, making a sound like hail striking a roof top if the weather teams had decided to dump all of the hail at once.

The lower angle meant that the crew aboard the Ambassador were still able to effectively utilize cover to avoid harm, but anyone not under shelter was in peril. One of the sailors was hit as she was climbing a rope ladder on the main mast and fell over the edge of the ship, screaming as she tumbled into the waves below. Cries of “Mare overboard!” rang out across the deck as rescue teams scrambled to recover her before the next volley could be fired. Sailors who had been hit in their limbs cried out and medics moved from pony to pony, checking each for serious injury and attending to those they found. There was a pause in the fight as the enemy crews moved more ammunition from their holds to the decks and the Ambassador took the opportunity to move it’s wounded below. Barrel Roll ran up to Shining, noticing the dozens of pockmarks forming a perfect circle around him. “The other guards are shielding me so I can focus on stopping the worst damage,” he said in answer to Barrel’s bemused expression.

Barrel Roll nodded. “You’re doing well. So far, we don’t have any killed in action, though we’ll see where we stand when the rescue team fishes that poor soul out of the water. How are you holding up?”

“My wellspring is fine, I don’t lack for magical energy, I just can’t protect more the one side at a time. Ideally, I’d be able to cast a bubble shield over the entire ship, but there are some fancy-smancy rules about the volume of shields that prevent me from doing so. Not even the Princesses could shield something this size.”

“Just do what you can, and we’ll get through this in relatively one piece. What about the-”

Whatever Barrel Roll was saying was lost to Shining Armor as Cadance trotted up the battlement staircase. “What in Tartarus are you doing up here!?!” Shining screamed, catching Barrel Roll off guard.

“I came to see how I could help.”

“We talked about this-”

“No...” Cadance stomped her foot onto the deck, “You told me what to do and I told you to stuff it. Remember?”

“I don’t have time for this Princess! Get back to your stateroom! Where are your guards?”

“Oh, you mean these guards?” from behind her the earth and pegasi details floated up from below the aft castle railing, looking rather sheepish about their predicament.

Shining groaned in defeat. “What do you want?”

“I told you, I want to help.”

He shook his head. “Unless you have a crack weather team hidden away in your luggage to whip up a twister, I don’t really know what you could do to help us.” He looked around the deck. "I suppose you could summon your own shield, but you don't need to be up here for that."

Cadance stared at him for a second, then smiled gleefully. “I don't have a weather team, but I know the next best thing. You hold them off, I'll need a few minutes to get everything ready.” The ponies she was carrying in her magic suddenly floated to the deck as she flared her wings and launched herself into the sky.

“Princess, Come back here!”

“Rule Zero, Lieutenant!” she called back to him as she continued to fly higher.

“CADANCE!!!” Damn it all to Tartarus. He turned to the pegasi bodyguards. “Get her back down here now!”

The three guards took off after the wayward princess, calling out after her as they flew.

“Look out!”

The crew of the Ambassador dove for cover as Shining turned and saw that while he had been distracted, the two ships chasing them had closed to within spell range and had lined up their forward ballista, called the chasers, to aim directly at the aft castle. Everyone on the deck dove for cover as the four oversized crossbows unleashed death into the stern of the Ambassador . At the last instant a blue shield formed behind the guardrail, foiling the surprise attack and giving the crew the opportunity to evacuate. As the other four ships closed further, the leeway he had to deflect each attack shrank. Time was lost to the blur of life-and-death split-second decisions as wave after wave of ammunition washed over the Ambassador. It seemed like only seconds had passed when one of the pegasi he’d send after Cadance suddenly appeared at his side.

“Sir!”

“Report, solider! Is the Princess back below deck?”

“No sir, she-”

“Why not!?”

“Sir, she has a plan-”

“I don’t care what her hairbrained scheme is, just get her down here!”

“But sir, its good plan! It could save the Ambassador!”

Shining Armor looked at the ships closing in around them. Soon enough they would be close enough to grapple, and if it came to down to close combat, the battle would quickly degenerate from desperate to hopeless. “Alright, I’m listening.”

The bodyguard explained it as quick as he could, dodging ball bearings and shrapnel as he did. When he had finished, Shining shook his head. “I don’t like it, but it’s a chance. Get back up there and help her.” As he spoke, over a hundred assorted creatures took off from the six ships around the Ambassador, flying towards a growing cloud bank that was forming above the battle. They must have spotted Cadance up there.

Leaning over the banister, Shining shouted to the deck crew who were still fighting. “Pegasi of Equestria! Your Princess needs you, rally to her!” he pointed up at the bank.

Instead of following his orders, the crew looked to Barrel Roll for instruction. “Are you deaf?” he screamed, “Get your flanks up there NOW!!”

Following their commander's order, each and every pegasus on deck dropped what they were doing and took off towards the roiling clouds.

Shining watched as the flying creatures came to a sudden stop just below the cloud layer. To his eye, it looked like that were speaking up to someone in the clouds, but he couldn’t be certain at this distance. This far out the sea, the weather was wild and untamed, lending itself to fits of unpredictable behavior. As he watched the clouds began to spin and grow darker, giving the battle an eerie, malevolent atmosphere.

The next time his attention was drawn skyward, it was to see the flying creatures drifting back towards their ships, though it didn’t look like they were in any particular hurry to get there. A minute later, the cloud bank, now a dark, threatening looking blob began to drift downwards as well. It went unnoticed by most of the combatants until it was less than a thousand paces above them. There was a pause in the action as everyone waited to see what would happen next, then, from the center of the cloud came the largest bolt of lightning Shining Armor had ever seen, followed by a titanic boom, and the main mast of one of the ships shattered into a million splintered fragments.

From his position on the Aft Castle, Shining Armor began to laugh. Panic was spreading in the enemy crews now as there was a second flash and another mast shattered. Some of the sailors began jumping out of their ships and into the water, others scrambled below decks to get away from the cloud.

There was a third bolt of lightning and this time two mast split down the middle and fell into the sea. One of the ships to Ambassador’s port suddenly moved away from the line of battle. Another one that was chasing slowed down and began to follow the first one that had fled. Minutes later it was over, with all six ships either retreating or stranded with their masts destroyed.

The Ambassador was in an uproar of post battle excitement as Cadance and her escorts returned to the deck. Ponies cheered, slapped each other on the back, and openly wept. Everyone was grateful to be alive. Cadance flew down to the castle and landed facing Shining Armor and Barrel Roll bearing a smug grin from ear to ear. “Not bad for a prissy princess, eh?” she asked while fanning herself with a wing.

“I have to admit, it was an impressive show,” Barrel Roll said. “Those lightning bolts were massive! How did you get them to target the enemies masts?”

“I just used a little lighting rod charm with the protective elements removed. I figured that a million volts would destroy pretty much anything it touched.”

“Well, it worked, they’re gone. We’ll still need extra watch stations on duty tonight but I don’t think they’ll be back for round two anytime soon.” Barrel Roll walked up to the banister and told the crowd that in celebration, tomorrow he would open the alcohol taps for the evening, as well as a putting everyone under his command on a light duty schedule for the day. This brought another round of cheers as the crew set to work cleaning up the aftermath of the battle.

“I’d like to volunteer my unit to stand watch tomorrow night.” Shining Armor said. “They did very little other then get dragged around by the princess today, they can stand watch just fine.”

“In fairness, Lieutenant, being carried around like a sack of apples isn’t exactly the most pleasant experience.” Cadance said soothingly. “Maybe they could be allowed to join for a little bit?”

Shining Armor's eyes narrowed. “I thought you of all ponies would be peeved with them for trying to keep you confined to your stateroom.”

“Oh, Shining, as if anypony could keep me in that room when I didn’t wish to be there. I can leave whenever I please, and besides, they were only following their orders.” She slipped him a mischievous grin. “My ire is reserved for their commander.”

Shining turned away from the group, his mood souring rapidly. “As you will, Princess. By your leave, it’s been a long day, and I’m tired. I’d like to turn in for the night.” He left without waiting for her response. If he had bothered to look, he would have seen her smile slowly fade as she watched him walk away.

Author's Note

Hey readers, ShiningBeacon here with a favor to ask. As a writer, this chapter was very experimental for me, and I spent a lot of time worrying about the battle, editing and re-editing it in order to try and make it an enjoyable experience for anybody who picks up this story. In the end I think I did okay, but I wanted to ask the audience a few specific questions about the battle to gauge what I need to work on.

1) Was the conflict easy to follow?

2) Was the terminology confusing?

3) Was it engaging to read?

if I could get just a few people giving me feedback on these questions, I would be very appreciative. It doesn't have to be in the comments here, it could be Via PM or on my page. Just some sort of indication of what you thought about it.

Barring that, if anyone knows some well written fics with this sort of overarching view of the battlefield, I would love to hear about them so I can read them and study what works in hopes of incorporating it into my own writing. Thank you all, and best wishes.

Chapter 5 - Never Volunteer

The Ambassador was a whirlwind of activity as the crew made preparations for the evening's festivities. From his vantage point, Shining Armor could see and hear the excited chatter of the soldiers and sailors as they speculated on the activities planned for the evening. As it had been sanctioned for a diplomatic mission with an indeterminate timeframe, it had been stocked with all manner of Equestrian party favors and cultural commodities. This included several types of musical bands on staff at the embassy, part of Equestria’s Cultural Outreach Program. As such, a pair of dueling stages were being hastily built under the fore and aft battlements to accommodate them all, causing no small amount of noise and confusion for the rest of the crew. Above him pegasi attached streamers to the masts, and unicorns were casting additional safety enchantments to prevent fire and falling hazards from endangering anyone who might somehow have drank more than their strictly rationed portion of spirits.

With a heavy sigh he left the deck and headed down to Barrel Roll’s stateroom. Positioned as it was the head of the ship, it took a bit of maneuvering and dodging to make it across, and more than once he wished he’d taken the opportunity to learn teleportation from Twilight before she’d thrown herself into her magical studies full-time. These days, their correspondence tended to be more one-sided, but he still saw her occasionally at family dinners or while he was patrolling the city. As he knocked on Barrel Roll’s door, he made a mental note to ask her to teach him sometime.

“Enter,” came a muffled voice from the other side of the paneling. Inside Shining Armor found Barrel Roll hunched over his desk, quill in mouth, with a dozen or so pages stacked next to him.

“What are you working on?” Shining Armor asked as he looked over his shoulder.

Barrel Roll set down his quill and sighed. “Seven of our wounded died during the night. I was writing letters to their families to inform them.”

“Oh.” With a pang of guilt, Shining Armor realized he’d never considered visiting the infirmary since no one who had been hurt had technically been under his command. “I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, me too.” Barrel Roll pushed back from his desk and stretched his wings, then looked at Shining. “Cadance was down there all day, talking to the wounded and helping the doctors however she could. She was trying to hide it, but I could tell she was pretty upset to see how many injured there were.”

“It's no wonder, she holds herself personally responsible for their well-being. She’s never been in battle before, it’s a miracle she wasn't injured herself considering how recklessly she acted,” Shining Armor said darkly.

“If she hadn’t, we could have a lot more than seven dead right now,” Barrel Roll reminded him, “and besides, she wasn’t hurt, so no harm, no foul, right?”

Shining Armor shook his head. “The whole reason I’m here is to shield her from unnecessary risks, Barrel, and yesterday I failed miserably. If I can’t even keep her safe on a ship surrounded by her faithful subjects, how am I going to protect her in Roam?”

“She wasn’t safe on the ship for reasons that had nothing to do with you, Shiny. Once those ships picked up on our trail, the battle was inevitable. What matters is that we made it through.”

He didn’t have anything to say to that. Even though he knew Barrel Roll was correct, he still felt like a failure. “Did we learn anything about the pirates?”

“A little,” Barrel Roll said cryptically. “Close the door and I’ll tell you what we know.” The door swung shut and Shining Armor pulled up one of the sitting cushions tossed around the room. “I had one of our scouts recover a flag from one of the destroyed masts that had fallen into the water during the battle. We sketched it and sent it in with our after-action report.” Barrel Roll opened a drawer and pulled out a slip of paper. Unfolding it he revealed a rough drawing of one of the flags that had flown from the enemy masts the previous day. “We found a match in the records in Canterlot. The flag is identical to a battle flag flown by the Sons of Sodam, a mercenary group operating out of Klugetown.”

“Mercenaries? What were a bunch of Mercenaries doing off the coast of Equestira? Had they turned to piracy?”

“Not the last we’ve heard, but they're not exactly a priority for our intelligence network. What's also interesting is that the group never exceeds 750 members.”

“So we encountered all of them.”

“It would seem that way.”

Shining Armor considered this new information. Mercenary groups going rogue wasn't exactly unheard of, but for such a large group to suddenly take up piracy was sure draw attention. “So, a large band of mercenaries takes to piracy, and the first ship they come across is the Ambassador? Seems very... Coincidental.”

Barrel Roll nodded. “That was my assessment as well.”

“Do we have a list of their cliental?”

“Not yet. Intelligence is working on it.”

They sat in silence for a brief time, then Shining Armor spoke up. “So, assume this was planned in advance. What was the goal? To stop the Ambassador? Attack Cadance when she was away from Canterlot?”

Barrel Roll shrugged. “it could be both. Or neither, we don’t really have anything to go off of yet.”

“Well, whoever it is, they knew exactly where to find us. The exact time and date of our departure was kept hidden from the public, so not only did they know when we were leaving, but our route and expected speed as well.”

Barrel Rolls’s eye’s widened. “That means-”

Shining nodded. “Someone with access to the mission details, maybe even aboard this ship, is a spy.”

The noise coming from the main deck was incredible, if not anything Shining Armor would describe as ‘pleasant’. Apparently, someone had taken the idea of a “battle of the bands” a little too literally, and so had put two different bands onstage together, playing at the exact same time. Worse, that someone had noticed the discrepancy in maximum potential noise level between the groups’ instruments and had taken it upon themselves to rig up magical speakers for the disadvantaged party. The resulting mixture produced a musical equivalent to what Shining imagined he would see if he taped a pair of kaleidoscopes to his face and rode the Wonderbolts themed roller-coaster at Equestrian Land. Then again, how many could say that they knew what a mariachi orchestra playing at the same volume as a death metal band sounded like?

“Not exactly Countess Coloratura, is it?” Sergeant Stonewall muttered.

“Beats that one-pony band that was onstage earlier, you ask me.” pipped up Corporal Trip Wire, one of the unicorns in the bodyguard. “That guy wasn’t even trying to make music, he just wanted to see how long they’d let him get away with it.”

“I didn’t think it was bad, Trip,” The pretty orange pegasus next to him said defensively, “And besides, it's always so interesting to watch those types of performances.”

“We ain’t supposed to be watching the performances, Corporal Lock,” Stone Wall growled. “We’re supposed to be watching for that fleet.”

“The same one we left broken and running for the nearest bolt hole? That fleet?” Corporal Storm Front said sarcastically. The longest serving of the pegasi on the bodyguard, indeed, of any in his unit, Shining Armor had wondered how she had managed to remain only a corporal for her entire career. Or rather, he had till he had actually spoken to her.

When he found time to properly introduce himself to the rest of the guards, she shown herself to be extremely resistant to answering his questions, bordering on insubordination. In the days following she made only a token effort to hid her contempt for him and his rapid climb through the ranks of the Royal Guard, commenting about “rookie mistakes” and “the wisdom of experience” anytime he’d slipped up or asked a question, even if the question was justified. Nor had it escaped his notice that the other two pegasi were considerably more relaxed when she was absent. In truth, he was beginning to wonder if she had been put in the bodyguard just to get her out of Canterlot.

“That fleet still had enough combat effectiveness to threaten this ship if they had a mind to attack,” Shining Armor said in a low voice. “Until we’re certain we aren’t being tailed, we’ll maintain extra watchers at night.” He heard Storm Front mutter something under her breath, and Stone Wall gave her a look of warning. “Care to repeat that aloud, Corporal?”

Strom Front stiffened reflexively, her jaw working for a few seconds before she spoke. “I said this is a load of horseshit, Sir.” No one so much as breathed. After a few seconds of silence, she decided to expand on her answer. “We fought in the battle too. We have just as much right to celebrate our victory as anybody. If anything, the civies should be up here staring at the ocean while we drink, not the other way round.”

No one moved a muscle as Shining Armor considered his response. Someone had finally ended the racket from the music stages, the sudden quiet adding to the tension in the air. For a minute he considered the various punishments he could met out, but none seemed quite appropriate to the situation. So, he settled on a different solution; He would explain himself.

“Why are we here, Corporal? Not here...” he stomped his foot for emphasis, “what is our purpose on this mission?”

She hesitated, “Sir... we’re the bodyguard, Sir.”

“Correct. And as the bodyguard it our duty to protect the princess at all costs, correct?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“So explain to me, Corporal, how allowing the Princess to charge into battle is consistent with that duty?”

“It isn’t, Sir.”

“No, it is not.” He began to pace in front of the four guards, not looking at them the same way his instructors used to during their lectures. “Ambassador won a great victory yesterday, it is true. We, however, failed in our mission. We let the Princess expose herself to the perils of war to save ourselves. It may have been successful, but it should not have happened regardless. That is why I volunteered this unit for the watch while our comrades celebrate. Am I understood?”

“YES SIR!” they cried in one voice.

“Good. Now, back to your posts.”

The music began to pick up again, this time a single band playing to the tune of one of the bouncy songs that had become popular in the last decade. A wild cheer rang out, and Shining Armor glanced over to see Cadance walking on the deck, adorned with her crown and a very tasteful selection of jewelry. Around her ponies cheered for the hero of evening. She stopped in the middle of the crowd and held out her wings to call for silence. When the cheering stopped she began to address them. Shining Armor tuned away from the scene, trying to hear what she was saying. Unfortunately, she wasn’t using her magic to amplify her speech, colloquially known as the Canterlot voice, and the wind carried her words away, so he only caught snippets of her speech. He thought he heard his name mentioned once, but it wasn’t clear, and if she had the crowd didn’t react to it. Eventually she finished and the Ambassador cheered once again. The music picked up, and the party resumed.

With an air of finality he moved away from the railing towards the center of the battlement. After scanning the horizon with his binoculars for the umpteenth time, he put them back into his pocket with a sigh and stared into the ocean. Privately, he had to admit that it was unlikely that the fleet would pursue them again, but Barrel Roll and he had agreed that the risk was there, and so the watch would be maintained. He stood alone, listening to the sounds of the ocean for some time before he noticed Corporal Trip Wire standing behind him. “Can I help you, Corporal?”

Trip Wire stood at attention; his feet rooted firmly to the deck. “Sir, I know you explained to us why we were on watch tonight, and I thought I understood... but I starting thinking about it, and I had a few questions.”

Shining Armor turned to look at Trip Wire, bemused by his words. “Was I unclear, Corporal?”

“No, Sir! It's not what you said that is confusing me, it's what you did. Sir.”

“What did you say to me?!” Shining Armor said incredulously.

“I said It's not what you said that is confusing me, it's what you did.”

Shining Armor could not have stared more intently if he had possessed Supermare’s heat vision. “Explain.”

“Well, Sir, you told us that it was our duty to protect the Princess, and I understood that. And you gave orders to keep her in her stateroom, I got that too. What I can’t understand is that if you were so intent on keeping her there, where she would be safe, then why weren’t you there yourself to keep an eye on her?”

Shining Armor blinked, stunned by his subordinate's question. “That’s... My decisions are my own, Corporal!”

“Yes sir, I agree. That's why I asked, so you could explain your reasoning. Sir. I’m just an enlisted, I never had a fancy education like you did, so maybe you can dumb it down for me.”

Shining Armor was dumbfounded. His reasons for his actions were perfectly obvious! Now if only I could think of them. He opened his mouth to explain his rational, then closed it. Then he opened it again to dismiss the Corporal, only to shut it without having said anything at all. At last, he came up with an explanation.

“The situation demanded that I be on deck to assist with the defense of the Ambassador. I did so because that was the best way to keep the Princess safe.”

“So, protecting the Ambassador is the same as protecting the Princess, then?”

“Of Course!”

“Well, Sir, the Princess acted in defense of the Ambassador as well, so wouldn’t that mean she was merely defending herself?”

Shining Armor glared at Trip Wire. “That’s different, and you know it!”

“Like I said sir, I'm just a dumb enlisted stallion. I don’t have book smarts like you do. All I’m hearing is that defending the princess means defending the ship she and everyone else depends on to reach land, but her defending the ship is bad. Is that right? Sir?”

“Yes! No! Look, it's not that simple!”

“Of course, it isn’t. Sir. I’m probably mangling your reasons all up, aren't I? That’s okay, Sir. I’ll leave you be.”

Shining Armor tuned away, glad to be done with the conversation. Something started to bother him, but he couldn’t put his hoof on it. He looked behind him again, and to his dismay, Corporal Trip Wire was still standing in attention. “You’re dismissed, Corporal.”

“Yes, Sir, begging your pardon, Sir, I just had another question.”

He groaned and rubbed the side of his head. “What is it now?”

“Well, Sir, I was happy with the answers you gave me, but then I realized that the reason we were here and not joining everyone else was because we failed to do our duty like you said. Sir. So, to ensure we don’t fail again, I thought you could explain to us, all proper like, how to keep the second most powerful being in the world confined to her room. Sir.”

To his immense credit, Trip Wire had kept a straight face throughout the whole ordeal. It didn’t matter to Shining Armor. He wanted to scream at the Corporal, to bust him down to Private and assign him to the kitchen, to have him scrubbing decks every day for the next twenty years until his back was so messed up his children would walk with a limp. But Shining didn’t, because he was right. Shining Armor had sent six ponies with no spellcasting ability at all to keep one of the most powerful beings in Equestira in her room like a child, all because he was afraid she would shatter like glass if she so much as chipped a hoof. Then, when she had overpowered them and done what she wanted anyways, he’d punished them for it.

Anger, fear, and guilt all washed over him like one of the waves beneath them had reached out of the ocean and slapped him down. He took a deep breath, held it till the wave receded, then let it out slowly. “I’m afraid I don't recall reading that in the manual, Corporal. Why don’t I get back to you after I think for a bit?” Corporal Trip Wire saluted his superior and turned to head back to his post. “And Corporal?” Trip wire stopped and looked over his shoulder. “You know I could have you discharged for insubordination, right?”

Trip Wire nodded. “Yes, Sir, but that would have been an answer as well, Sir.”

Shining Armor watched the pony head back to his station, then walked over to where Corporal Flint Lock was standing watch. “Corporal, would you find Lieutenant Roll and ask him to speak with me when he’s available?”

From the battlement, Shining Armor gazed down at the dance party taking place on deck. The general atmosphere had shifted when two stallions had challenged each other to an impromptu dance off. As one had been a sailor and the other a guard, this had immediately forced everyone on board to choose a side. The battle had been hard fought and fraught with drama; ambushes, surprise dance numbers and betrayals where the ruling order of the night. Finally, when tensions had reached a breaking point and Shining had been worried about an actual fight breaking out, Cadance had stepped in to calm the waters and bring unity to the Ambassador once again. Now she was in the thick of it, leading the crew through song after song, the slightest sheen of sweat starting to form in her mane and tail. Shining Armor did his upmost not to notice her rump as it swung and bounced in perfect time to the music, but from here he had a perfect view of the dance floor and he kept catching himself watching the Princess a little too long to be considered appropriate for one of her guards.

He became aware of a presence next to him and turned to see Strom Front sitting on the banister, a tankard of rum in each hoof. From the looks of it, she was working on both at once. “Corporal,” he said stiffly.

“Sir.”

“What are you doing up here?”

“Well...” she rocked back and forth of the railing, using her wings in an amazing display of balance, “I was down there chatting up this cute stallion I bumped into...he’s a sailor, no worries... and I got that funny feeling of being watched, so I looked up and here you were. So really, I should be asking you what are you doing here? We were relieved almost an hour ago, have you been up here the whole time?”

Shining Armor sighed. “I have.”

“How come?”

He hesitated for a moment, then dipped his head. “I acted... inappropriately yesterday, volunteering you all for watch duty to keep you away from the celebration. I was feeling inadequate as a soldier and I took it out on you all, and for that I am sorry.” Her eyes widened slightly at the apology, and for a while they both were quiet, watching the mass of bodies flowing to the rhythm of the music.

“I guess we did kinda screw up,” she said quietly.

Shining Armor shook his head. “No, the fault is mine. I gave you all an impossible task and then blamed everyone but myself when it didn’t work out. A mentor of mine once told me ‘Ask the impossible of your troops and they will never fail to surprise. Demand the impossible of them, and they will never fail to disappoint.’ I forgot those words till today. I won’t do it again.”

“Well, whoever they are, I like them,” Storm Front said cheerily, “I wish that saying had gotten around more, I could’ve used some less demanding commanders over the years.”

“Couldn’t we all,” he chuckled.

They watched the dancing some more, Shining once again chiding his eyes for wandering towards Cadance. “She can really move,” Strom Front said admiringly, nodding to her.

“Yeah.” That was all he could think to say. He knew he should’ve felt guilty for looking at a mare other than Picture, but he'd been feeling guilty for a while now, and he just couldn’t find it in him to feel any worse about himself then he already did. I’ll have plenty of time to feel bad about it tomorrow. “You should get back to the party, you’re missing out on the fun.”

She considered it for about half a second, then shrugged. “Eh, I just wanted a drink. I’m all good right here.”

They didn’t talk for the rest of the night, which was fine with Shining Armor. He had done a lot of talking today. He still had a lot of thinking to do.

Chapter 6 - Be Ever Vigilant

The days following the battle were difficult for Shining Armor. While he had won back the favor of the bodyguard by his tacit admission of fault, he had lost much again with the intense drills he was running them through every morning, though none had complained openly yet. Cadance, on the other hoof, had teased him mercilessly since then, dropping a snarky comment whenever he answered one of her questions incorrectly or made a mistake. Unfortunately for him, today they were learning the traditional dances preformed at Galas and other high society events. In his opinion, it was more stressful than being in the thick of battle. It was definitely more dangerous for those near him, Cadance most of all as his partner.

“Ouch! Shining, watch where you are stepping!”

“Sorry, Princess,” he muttered, kicking himself internally. He’d mistimed his move and had stepped onto her hoof, crushing her shoe into her shin.

She glared at him as she rubbed the offended limb. “You pranced when you should have trotted. We'll have to fix that.” She sighed and shook her head slightly. “Well, I hope your dance partner doesn’t mind having their dancing shoes refitted after attending the Gala with you, lieutenant, otherwise it may be difficult to find you a date.”

“I should imagine I would be too busy to go on any dates, your Highness. Keeping you alive is already full-time employment, I can scarcely imagine when we are among those who see you harmed.”

“As if.“ she snorted. “Roam knows well enough that if anything were to happen to me, it would bring down Celestia’s wrath upon them like the world had never seen. No, I think that I will be a greater risk of being bored to death from stallions who think they can bed an alicorn by wooing me in a single night.” She shook her head in disgust. “Honestly, you wouldn’t believe how many ponies think that being the Princess of Love translates to being easy.”

“I shall keep that in mind, Princess,” he deadpanned.

“See to it that you do. I won’t have my reputation sullied by somepony who couldn’t dance to the cadence if it held your hoof the whole time.” She flared her wings and took a stance signaling her readiness. “Again.”

He groaned and rubbed his temples. “Princess, we’ve been at this for hours. Can't we take a break?”

Her eyes narrowed. “No, Lieutenant, we cannot. Not until you can at least get through the first stanza without stepping on or tripping your partner!”

Something in Shining Armor snapped. Frustration that had been simmering for days dissolved the filter between his emotions and his mouth and became manifest. “I have things to do outside of preparing for one of your stupid parties, you know!”

For the briefest of moments, he saw the hurt his words caused bleed through Cadance’s façade. Her eyes went wide in shock and pain, and he knew that he had touched a nerve that he hadn’t anticipated. Only for a moment, though, then the ever-unflappable princess posture reasserted itself and her eyes narrowed.

“Very well, then, lieutenant, if that’s how you feel, then we can skip the lesson for today. However, since you will be attending these “stupid parties”, and you will be required to socialize with my guests, you will know the dances and be capable of performing to my standards without my assistance, or I WILL have a new Bodyguard!” She stormed off to below deck, sailors everywhere scrambling to get out of her way.

A war waged within Shining as he watched her leave. On the one hoof, he was immensely frustrated with his lack of progress, and acting out had been cathartic, but the very real pain he had seen made him question the worth of his catharsis. Even now, as his temper cooled, he felt like a jerk for responding to Cadance’s needling the way he had. Damn.

He noticed that everyone on deck was watching him like they expected him to spontaneously combust.

“Don’t you all have work to do!”

There was a flurry of motion as every sailor suddenly found themselves very busy with a task that required their full attention. Shining let out a huff and headed back to his stateroom. Locking his door, he flopped onto his bed and groaned. He didn’t actually have much to do right now besides some paperwork, and he wasn’t exactly in the mood for that.

His ear flicked, and he sat up. Now that he was thinking about it, there was something he’d been meaning to do for a couple of days. He moved to the small desk that had been provided for him, laid out his quill, ink and a piece of parchment and began to write.

Dear Twilly,

I’m writing to inform you that I left Canterlot with Cadance and Barrel Roll on a diplomatic mission several weeks ago. Since you probably haven't heard about it from your study or wherever you’re reading this, we’re traveling to Roam to re-establish the embassy there. Sorry I didn’t have a chance to stop by, events were moving rather quickly. A lot has happened since we last spoke, including my promotion to the rank of Lieutenant. I already sent a message to mom and dad, but if you haven't seen them, I figured I’d tell you myself. So far most of my time is spent on drills and history lessons with Cadance and boredom, but I repeat myself. Don't worry about me, this mission hasn't been any more dangerous than my duties back home. I expect I’ll be back sometime next year; we’ll get donuts and catch up when I get back.

I did have a question for you. The other day I was talking to Barrel Roll and the topic of shield spells came up. I lamented that shields are limited by the area that they are protecting, and that got me thinking, is there any way around the limitations of the 8th law of magic? Seeing as we are traveling on a ship, it could be useful if I could expand my shield to cover the entirety of the deck to keep us dry if we sail through a squall (that’s what the sailors call the small wild storms that pop up on the ocean). I’ve been exploring the books I have on the ship, but we aren’t carrying the sort of research materials that you have access to. If you know of anything that could help me, I would be very grateful. Not grateful enough to tell you where the Crown is, but I’ll give you a chance to win it back someday.

One more thing before I go to sleep. I guess now is as good a time to tell you as any, but Picture and I broke up. She told me the day I left that we were through. I tried reaching out to her through Cadance, but she never responded. I don’t know if you’ve seen her around, but if you do, don’t do anything that would get you in trouble. I don’t want you to ruin your opportunities on my account. Tell mom and dad and Spike I miss them.

Love, BBBFF

P.S. Tell Spike to stay out of my mint comics. I’ll know if he’s been reading them.

He set down the quill and stretched. Outside the porthole the sun was beginning its descent towards the horizon. Even though it would be dark a few minutes, Shining had long since adjusted his sleep schedule to sleep for exactly 6 hours at night, and even as draining as today’s events had been, he still wasn’t ready to sleep. He rolled up the letter and sealed it with the wax seal he’d be given after his promotion and realized the only way to get it back to Canterlot was via Cadance. His heart sank. If he wanted to send it, he would have to face her. Perhaps I am feeling tired after all. He threw himself into the bed and closed his eyes, eager for the oblivion of sleep to overtake him.

Hours later, Shining Armor lay awake in his cot, staring up at the ceiling. A guilty conscience makes for a poor sleep aid, and no matter how hard he tried, he could not ignore the guilt chewing at his soul. He sighed and sat up in bed, massaging his forehead. Buck it. He threw off his blanket and stood up with a groan. There was no point in fighting it any longer, he needed to talk to Cadance and settle this, once and for all. He checked the time. Almost Midnight. She’s probably still awake. He opened the door and stepped out into the hall, then closed it behind him and turned towards Cadance’s stateroom, where he found himself face-to-face with three cloaked figures crouched in front of Cadance’s door.

His senses were brought to a hyper focus by the soft sound of a blade being loosed from a sheath. Acting on pure instinct, he conjured a shield between him and the figures, wincing as a dagger stuck his hasty defense. The amount of energy needed to deflect the blade surged much higher than it should have. Part of his brain took note and filed it away for when someone was not busy trying to kill him. He sent out a pulse of kinetic energy down the hall, forcing the assailants to stumble backwards and buying himself a few seconds.

Even wearing the black cloaks, Shining Armor could make out the wings, claws, and beaks that marked them as Griffons. Griffons were dangerous close combat opponents in the best of circumstances, and in this hallway was just wide enough for two to attack him at the same time, or worse, flank him and attack from multiple directions. To top it off, he was completely unarmed, while his attackers were probably equipped with all manner of weapons. His only advantages were his magic and his training. Even then, the prospect of battle at this moment was precarious at best, and if they weren’t at Cadance’s door, he would attempt to distract them and draw them into a chase where he could find more guards to even the odds. As is stood, retreat was not an option.

The assailants, now recovered from the pulse, moved to attack. Two of them rushed at him while the third unlimbered what appeared to be a crossbow. One of two rushing him threw off their cloak and lashed out at him with its wing. He ducked under it and saw a flash of steel along the edge of the appendage that was indicative of a wingblade, a type of armor for flyers that had blades along the edges for slashing. This one was in the usual griffin style, with narrow spikes that jutted out at right angles at the end for piercing armor, not that they needed them for this fight.

Shining’s horn glowed with power as a saucer sized shield shaped like his own cutie mark sprang into being. He deflected another wing strike aimed at his neck, his opponent trying to end the fight quickly and quietly. He fell back down the hall as the second griffin slashed at his side with a dagger of its own, leaving a shallow cut that stung but wasn’t dangerous. Behind them he saw the third aiming his crossbow, waiting for a clear shot.

The first griffin came at him again with his wingblades, and this time he stepped out of the way of the attack and reared up, kicking out with his foreleg and hitting it in the eye. The Griffin stumbled back clutching his face as his partner stepped forward to stab Shining in the neck. He brought his shield around in the nick of time to catch the blow, the knife giving off a sharp ringing noise as it struck. Shining Armor grunted at the sudden effort he needed to maintain the spell, far beyond what he would expect.

His concern growing, he took the opportunity presented to counter with another kinetic blast, this one concentrated into a narrow beam. The force of the spell sent the griffin flying backwards down the hall. His injured comrade ducked out of the way, but the one with the crossbow was hit square, and the two tumbled to the ground in a tangle of limbs. The griffin who had been hit in the eye screeched and redoubled his attack, swinging his claws and wings wildly in an attempt to land a blow. Unfortunately for it, Shining Armor saw a patten to the attacks, and when it brought its wing around for a slash at his face Shining used his telekinesis to push the griffon into an over-swing that left its neck exposed, allowing him to drive his horn into the griffon's neck. It let out a hideous scream and tried to push him off, whereupon he whipped his head to the side, cutting off the screech as his horn severed the spinal cord.

Shining Armor stepped back and allowed the body of the griffin to slough off, leaving behind a trail of blood that ran down his face and dripped onto the floor. The other two had untangled themselves and were standing once more. If they were unnerved by the death of their fellow, they didn’t show it. With the slightest effort, his horn glowed once more and a shield formed in the hallway between them, preventing them from attacking him. That should hold them, now we just wait for the guards to arrive-

To his shock and horror, Cadance’s door opened and she peeked through the crack in the door at him. From where she was standing, the griffons were out of sight, leaving her with the odd picture of Shining Armor standing in corridor in the middle of the night behind a solid wall of magic.

“Shining? What are you-”

Her words were cut short as the griffon that Shining Armor had blasted down the hall shouldered the door, forcing it open and bringing it face-to-face with Cadance. He saw the gleam of black metal in the soft mage light that illuminated the hallway as it raised its weapon to slash Cadance’s throat. The princess never had time to do more than blink as the blade descended towards her neck, only to be stopped by the blue bubble that formed around her more quickly than thought itself.

It took a second for Cadance to realize what was happening, but when she did, her eyes went wide. She fell onto her rump as she scrambled to get away from the assassin who was stabbing the barrier between them.

“Close the door!” Shining Armor screamed as he ran towards her. “Close the BUCKING DOOR!”
The door slammed shut, but the Griffon was standing between the edge of the door and the doorframe, pinning him in place and prevented the door from closing. The trapped assailant struggled to squeeze into the room with Cadance. Oh, no you don’t.

Something struck his side, but he ignored it. Dismissing the shield, Shining Armor grabbed the griffon’s wings with his telekinesis and pulled with all his might. It let out a squeal of pain as its wings dislocated under the strain, but Shining maintained his grip until he’d pulled the griffon far enough for the door to close. His brief moment of relief was interrupted when he saw what had hit him. The shaft of a crossbow bolt was buried deep in his shoulder. Oh.

The pain hadn’t started yet thanks to all the adrenalin in his system, but he knew it wouldn’t take long. He refocused on the two assassins in front of him. One was reloading its crossbow, the other, the one with the injured wings, held its blade out menacingly as it stalked towards him. Shining could feel the wound his shoulder starting to bite as the blood began to trickle down his leg. He leaned on the leg experimentally, then grimaced. There was no way he was going to be able to run or fight with this wound, not hoof-to-claw.

He took a tentative step back and weighed his options. He could create a shield around himself and wait for help to arrive, though doing so would leave the assassins free to attempt another breach and Shining didn’t know what other tools they had brought with them. A big enough explosion in this part of the ship would doom not just Cadance but the entire crew to a watery grave. He could leave and search for help, but that left him with the same problem. No, he needed to keep them distracted until someone else discovered the intruders, or he could find a way to eliminate the threat himself.

He gnashed his teeth as his horn glowed once more, forming a small heater shield fashioned after the ones on his haunch.

“You want to get to her; you’re going to have to kill me first.”

“Gladly” the assassin with the knife hissed as it pounced. He stumbled as he deflected the strike. Cackling, it tried to vault over the barrier to stab at him. He deftly levitated the shield as it passed over, catching it in its midsection and slamming it into the ceiling. That ought to get someone’s attention. The griffin flopped back to the floor and rolled to its feet, then charged him once again.

This time, rather than slashing at him, the griffin threw the knife as it closed the distance, forcing Shining to deflect the blade and allowing it to crash into him, slamming him into the wall. Claws wrapped around his neck, seeking to rip his throat out. In desperation Shining latched on its talons with his magic, struggling against the crushing force the griffin was bringing to bear. More rivulets of blood began to flow down his chest as the tips pierced flesh. He grabbed its neck with his fore legs and pushed off the wall, trying to gain enough leverage to dislodge the death grip. For a few seconds they struggled against each other, neither one able to gain an advantage.

His mind raced as he searched for a way out of his predicament, then settled on a plan that was as foolhardy as it was desperate. He circled his opponent, exposing his side to the sniper who was still standing at the ready. For the longest second of his life, nothing happened, then he heard the soft *click* of a crossbow trigger. With the last of his strength, he wrenched the griffon he was wrestling with back between him and the archer. His efforts were rewarded with a wild screech as the griffon was hit under its wing and the claws around his neck loosened. Seizing the moment, he latched onto the stub of the bolt with his magic and pushed it deep into the chest cavity, piercing its heart. The griffon released him and fell to the ground, scrabbling at its chest as its wings flailed uselessly. Behind it, the last assassin hastily worked the action on its crossbow as it tried to load another bolt.

Shining glared as his horn flashed again. The air took on a coppery taste as his mane and tail began to float around him eerily. Sparks began to flash around him as the spell gathered magic from the environment and concentrated it at the tip of his horn.

“How many?” Shining asked softly, “How many have you killed? How much innocent blood do you have on your claws?”

The griffon, terrified by the spectacle in front of him, began to back away. Shining stepped towards it, his eyes passing judgment upon the would-be assassin. This... Thing had tried to murder Cadance. Probably had murdered others previously. There was only one way justice would be served.

The griffon dropped the weapon and ran. A bolt of pure energy shot from the tip of Shining Armor’s horn, striking it just above the shoulders, sending it tumbling forward onto the deck, unable to move. Still limping, Shining walked over and rolled it onto its back. It stared up at him in horror as magic once again began to build in his horn. A cruel smile crossed his face as he imagined the terror it was feeling, the same terror it had undoubtedly inflicted on others in their final moments.

“It doesn’t matter, really. One is more than enough.” He pointed his horn at the assassin's eye. “You’re not going to hurt anyone else. Ever. Again.”

The infirmary was quiet. Shining Armor laid on the bed, trying to sleep, but the dull ache in his shoulder was keeping him up. The doctors had confirmed his initial assessment that his wound was not fatal, but regardless they had kept him in the ward for observation till morning. In that time, he had established new protocols for a rotating guard for Cadance so that somepony was always watching over her. Two sweeps of the ship had led to the discovery of the bodies of several royal guards hidden in seldom-used rooms around the Ambassador in the process, but had turned up no more assassins.

His leg twitched as he resisted the urge to scratch at his bandages. The poultice the doctors had applied accelerated the healing process and meant that he would be ready for duty by the time they arrived at Roam, but it itched even worse than the time he’d been bitten by a flock of hawk mosquitoes while at bootcamp. Barrel Roll had made it a point to check on him, a welcome distraction, but he had his own duties that required attention right now. Shining also thought that he felt responsible for letting the assassins on-board in the first place, and was trying to make up for it now by keeping the guard on alert.

“Hello, Lieutenant.”

Shining Armor turned to see Cadance sitting by him. Given the time of night, her lack of regalia, and the uncharacteristically unkempt mane, it was obvious she was suffering from the same inability to sleep as he.

“Princess.” The acknowledgement was stiff and formal, understating the array of emotions that roiled within him. “What brings you here at this hour?”

She shrugged slightly; the movement barely noticeable in her wispy shoulders. “I was feeling a bit restless. Besides, I never got the chance to thank you.”

“I live to serve, Princess.”

“That’s not-”

“You are not required to thank me for doing the bare minimum to keep you safe, your Highness.”

“Shining, would you please stop interrupting me when I’m trying to apologize!?” Her wings flared out in frustration as her voice contained the slightest hint of an echo. He winced at her words and looked away, not knowing what to say.

“Shining, I wanted to thank you, and apologize.For my behavior these last few days. I’ve been so worried about teaching that I failed to help you learn. I can't expect perfection out of someone in a few weeks when I’ve had years to practice.” She looked at the floor and bit her lip. “I also wanted to apologize for how I acted during the battle. You were trying to protect me, and I told you to stuff it. Literally. I should have taken you as seriously as I want you to take me.”

Shining Armor looked at her, eyebrows raised. “So, you’re finally going to take me seriously, eh? Nice to know I’ve been a joke to you this entire time.”

“That’s not what I-” her words were cut off as she received a mouthful of feather pillow.

“That’s what you get for not taking me seriously,” he chuckled.

She sputtered as small pieces of down stuck to her mouth and lips, but couldn’t hide her playful smile that had appeared.

“You ass!” she shoved him gently, careful not to jostle his shoulder. “You do realize I could smother you and nobody would say anything, right?”

“Maybe you could, but you won’t. You're too gentle for that.”

She gave him a coy smile “Those pirates would disagree, don’t you think?”

“Maybe-” He shrugged, “-but don’t think I didn’t notice that you were aiming for the ships and not the crew.”

Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment. His guess had been correct. “Was it that obvious?”

“Not to most, but I know you. I know you would do everything you could to avoid bloodshed. It's who you are.”

She gave him a soft smile. "You know me better than anypony, except Celestia, of course. It’s hard to believe you were barely more than a colt when we first met, and look at you now."

"I'll wait till I've healed up a bit before I make an assessment, if that's okay."

There was a moment of shared amusement between the two friends, then Cadance's expression fell.

“Shining...”

“Yes?” The concern in his voice mirrored her own.

“How are you holding up? From the fight. Are you okay?”

He gave her a bemused look. “The doctor said the arrow didn’t hit anything important, and the poultice they gave me should have me back on my hooves in a week, so I guess I'm alright.”

“No, no, I mean, how are you... Up here?” she tapped the side of her head. “it’s not good for ponies to be forced to kill someone, so I was wondering-”

“If I was going crazy with guilt?” he said bluntly. She nodded. “I’m okay, Cadance, I mean it. This... wasn’t the first time I’ve had to do that.” He could see the shock on her face when he said it.

“I’m sorry, I did not realize, you always seemed so... normal.”

He nodded. “It was almost a year ago. It's not something I like to remember, but the shrinks cleared me.” Well, technically, they did. “I don’t really think about it much, honestly. Besides, what kind of bodyguard would I be if I couldn’t do what was necessary?”

His words had a certain reasoning to them, one that was well grounded, if the previous night were any indication. “Still, I wish it hadn’t been necessary in the end,” she said bitterly.

They sat in silence for a while, each dredging up unpleasant memories from their past before Shining Armor cleared his throat. “I’m sorry too. For my behavior. I was out of line today, and I shouldn’t have said what I said.”

Cadance nodded, but her eyes fell. “These galas are really important to me, Shining. They represent the chance to get all of Roam’s leaders in the same place at the same time and convince them to reopen to us.... the chance to bring our nations together, after centuries of being at odds. How much have we missed out on by treating each other as the enemy?”

“Not to mention you’d be making a name for yourself.”

“Well, that too, but this isn't about me. It's about all of us, and our children, and our children’s children living in peace and harmony. This could make the world a better place. I need to get every political maneuver right every single time, or this-” she waved to the Ambassador, “whole trip will be for nothing.”

“And me telling you it is stupid doesn’t help”

“It does not inspire confidence, no.”

“Well, then, in the future I will avoid making such a... Foalish mistake. I don’t want to hurt you, Cadance, and I’m sorry I did.”

She gave him a warm smile. “I guess we both still have some growing up to do.”

“Aren't you a little old to be growing up?”

Cadance stood and stretched her wings. “Alicorn, Shining. We take a little longer to bake to perfection, shall we say, then most ponies. Regardless of when I was born, I don’t feel a day over 25.” She turned around and headed for the door.

“So, you are old, then.”

That stopped her dead in her tracks. She turned her head to glare at him. “Isn’t it rude to ask a lady her age?”

He flashed a wide grin. “Was it like that you were a filly, grandma?”

She rolled her eyes as she stepped into the doorway to the infirmary. “I’ll need to have a word with your doctor. That griffon clearly did some brain damage I'll need to account for.” Her eyes lit up. “Oh! Speaking of brains, since you won’t be able to practice your dancing for a while, I have some illustrated manuals for each of the One-hundred and One formal and traditional dances of Roam, and I expect you identify the name, stanza, and step of each of them by sight next week.” Her eyes gleamed as his mouth dropped.

His ears flattened, and he let out a nervous chuckle. “Any chance I could just fight some more assassins instead?”

“I’m just kidding, Shining," she giggled, “I’ll stop by tomorrow to see how you’re doing and we’ll decide what to do from there, okay?”

Shining let out a sigh of relief. “That would be great. Thank you Cadance.”

After she left, Shining let out a yawn and nestled into his bed. For the first time since he was a colt, he was actually looking forward to a lesson. I must be getting soft, he thought as he began to drift off. To think that I would ever be so lazy to look forward to just sitting down while talking to Cadance. I can scarcely believe it.

What he dreamt that night he never could recall, but when the nurse came in to check on him, she noticed the faintest hint of a smile on his lips while he slept.

Author's Note

Special thanks to Metamponychosis and Brony1337 for their help pre-reading this chapter. Y'all are awesome.

Chapter 7. 1 - When Traveling in Roam...

It had been almost a week since the attempt on Cadance’s life. Nearly that long since the Doctor had put him on bed rest and a medicine regime to promote his recovery. A good deal longer since the last time he’d run drills or announced a surprise equipment inspection for his guards. He shuddered to think what their armor must look like after a week of exposure to the elements without their commander riding them to keep their gear in peak condition.

No, instead of attending to his responsibilities, he was laying in his bed, staring at the clock hanging on the wall opposite. He'd spent the last hour watching the second-hand ticking by, counting the number of times it had reset the minute count in coordination with the rolling of the Ambassador, a grand total of seven so far. Idlily, he wondered what Cadance was up to this evening. He hadn’t seen her or heard from her in days, and if not for the fact that he knew from the lack of alarms that there had been no emergency since he’d been put on bedrest, he’d be feeling a tad bit worried right now. He'd already read everything she’d left for him twice over, and had been looking forward to impressing her with his knowledge on recent history of the Empire when she returned. For whatever reason, she hadn’t visited him since that first night, which left him feeling slightly disappointed and very, very bored.

We’re only a day or two out from Roam. Maybe she’s overseeing final preparations?

Regardless of her reasons, his forced solitude, combined with his medication had left him drowsy and irritable most of the time. Thus far he’d avoided taking it out on his few guests, who’d mostly consisted of the nurses who came to check on him daily, and Barrel Roll, who’d drop in for a minute when he wasn’t busy. Even so, he would have enjoyed some more frequent visitors.

A knock at the door broke the monotony of the ticking clock and ended his reverie. Checking that his room wasn’t completely destroyed, he sat up and scooched back against the wall behind him. “Enter.”

The door swung inward and he was surprised to see both Barrel Roll and Sergeant Stone Wall standing in the hallway. Both had saddlebags on, though Barrel's leaned significantly more to one side. Without missing a beat, Barrel Roll pushed past the Sergeant and into the stateroom.

“Shiny! I was just dropping in for a visit, and look who I bumped into!” He strode over and almost flopped into the desk chair beside Shining’s bed, then took out a paper bag that was full of... something and tossed it onto the desk.

From the door, Stone Wall saluted his wounded commander. “Permission to enter, sir?”

“Granted. Leave the formalities at the door, Stone. No point in being the only one uncomfortable.”

Stone Wall nodded and stepped inside, closing the door behind himself. Barrel Roll spun in the chair to face the bed. “So, how are you feeling today?”

“Better. The Doctor says I can start walking around tomorrow.”

“That’s good,” Barrel Roll quipped cheerfully as he placed the paper bag in the desk. “You’ll start to get soft quick, being lazy all day.”

Shining Armor cocked an eyebrow. “Oh, is that what this is?”

“Shiny, you get to stay in bed all day until somepony brings you a meal, then when you’ve eaten you lay down and sleep. It’s practically a free vacation!”

“Except for the part where I was shot.”

“Well, did they bill you for that? Like I said, practically free.”

Stone Wall let out a little cough, drawing their attention. “It's good you’re feeling better, Lieutenant. Now, if you don’t mind, I came here to give you a report on everything we learned from the assassins remains.”

“Of course.” Shining Armor shot Barrel Roll a look that warned him not to act up, then turned to face Stone Wall. “Please, continue.”

Stone Wall took out a binder and presented it to his commander, his face neutral. “This is everything we know, and quite a few things we don’t know but suspect strongly. Unfortunately, interrogation was not an option, but we did make some interesting observations about the gear they were carrying. In particular, we found field kits containing medical equipment similar to what is used for collecting blood samples by our medical staff.”

Shining Armor's eyebrows furrowed. “Blood samples?”

“Yes sir, though we aren’t certain that was their intended use. We don’t know it was intended for use at all, it could be that it was just a part of the medical kit that they had procured.”

Shining didn’t have to look at Barrel Roll to know that they were both thinking the same thing.

“Do we know how they got on board the Ambassador?”

“I can answer that,” Barrel Roll’s expression became uncharacteristically somber. “We found a couple of bodies from the Night Watch in one of the storage rooms in the stern. They’d been strangled with rope or cord.”

Shining Armor grimaced. That was an ugly way to die. “What about the rest of the watch? Aren’t there six per shift?”

“The other four are MIA, presumed dead. Probably tossed overboard.”

Damn. “I’m sorry.”

Barrel Roll gave him a slight nod. “At least we got the bastards who did it.”

“Most of them,” Stone Wall interjected. “We think there was likely a fourth conspirator who acted as a lookout and fled when you foiled the attack.”

“And we never discovered where they came from?”

“I’m afraid not, sir. For all we know, they were hiding in a cloud bank for days, waiting for us to pass by. We sent out search parties, but they never found anything.”

Shining Armor flipped open the binder and skimmed though it. Most of it was just a recollection of his fight with the assassins, minus the way he’d killed the final attacker. Justified as it may have been, he didn’t think the higher ups would look too kindly on how he’d handled the situation. Fortunately, the interviewer who'd taken his account of the fight didn’t pressure him for details.

He turned the last page, then looked up at Stone Wall and frowned. There was something he’d been expecting to see that hadn’t been the report at all. “What can you tell me about their weapons?”

Stonewall glanced over at Barrel Roll, who nodded. He took a step closer to the bed. “The crossbow, bolts, and wingblades are of griffon design, no surprises there.” He leaned in closer to Shining Armor and Barrel Roll. “The daggers however, are made from Haematite,” he said in a low voice.

A shiver ran down Shining Armor’s spine. Haematite, or Cold Iron as it was more commonly known, was a rare mineral that was found in scattered pockets throughout the world, and had the unusual property of being highly resistant to magic in all its forms. It had long been banned in Equestira and not available on the wider market. Officially, this was the result of its scarcity and high demand in industrial sectors where magical contamination needed to be kept to a minimum. In reality, it was mostly used in the creation of the anti-magic vaults beneath Fort Ox, where dangerous magical artifacts were kept away from the public eye. This served a double purpose, as Cold Iron was one of the only natural materials that bypassed the supernatural toughness inherent to Alicorns, rendering them almost as vulnerable as anyone else to weapons crafted from it. As such, it was a closely kept secret from all but a few within the government and military itself.

A secret that only someone close to the Princesses could have known.

The implications were almost too radical to consider. Shining Armor had always thought of Canterlot as a safe place where he could focus on his duties and training. Protecting Cadance from threats within the palace itself had never been part of his calculations.

“So, not only did they know who was on board and where we were going, but they had everything they needed to kill Cadance.”

“It would seem so, sir.”

“This keeps getter better,” Shining Armor mumbled. How in Tartarus did they get their claws on some Cold Iron? There haven’t been any new veins discovered in Equestira in years. “You said the rest of their equipment was standard?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Any explosives?”

“None that we discovered.”

Shining Armor closed the binder and looked at Barrel Roll. “What do you think? Same party?”

Barrel Roll nodded. “Probably.”

Stone Wall looked between the two lieutenants. “Party?”

“We suspect that the pirates that we encountered a few weeks ago were not operating on their own volition,” Barrel Roll stated. “Our intelligence is still gathering the details, but we believe that they were hired to attack the Ambassador once we were beyond the assistance of Equestria.” Stone Wall stared at him for a few seconds, then his eyes narrowed and he nodded.

“That does make sense. It's not normal pirate behavior to target such a heavily armed ship as the Ambassador. They should have turned and run as soon as they saw us.” His normally unflappable expression morphed into a deep frown. “Although it is concerning that that have been targeted multiple times during our voyage. That would imply a level of knowledge of our location that could only be provided-”

“If they were getting it from somepony on the ship,” Shining Armor finished. “We’re keeping this quiet for now. If we let slip that there’s a spy aboard the Ambassador, the crew would tear themselves apart.”

“And you want me to help you investigate.”

“Actually, we’d prefer if you sat on your ass and didn’t help at all,” Barrel Roll said flippantly, “make it a fun challenge for us.”

Stone Wall turned his gaze on Barrel Roll, his feelings once again hidden the usual visage.

“Hard to imagine anything getting past an officer of your caliber. Sir.”

Barrel Roll, taken aback by the audacity of the statement, stared at him for a few seconds, then threw his head back and laughed. “So, it is possible to get under your skin! And here I thought you were completely dead inside!”

“Only mostly, sir.”

“That’s enough, Sergeant,” Shining Armor interjected. “When I said you could ditch the formalities, I didn’t mean you could disrespect the Lieutenant.”

“Aw, come on, Shiny, it's just a little banter between friends.” Behind Barrel Roll said playfully. Behind him and out of his view, Stone Wall stiffened, almost coming to a full attention stance.

“Be that is it may, Barrel, the Sergeant doesn’t know you or your... style of humor like I do. Tone it down a little, before I have to recommend citations for you both.”

“Awe, you’re no fun...”

“Before I leave, sir, there is a matter I needed to speak with you about.” Stone Wall was deliberately not looking at Barrel Roll now. “In private.”

Shining Armor nodded. “Barrel, do you mind stepping out for a few minutes?” he gave his oldest friend his trademark ‘don’t push it’ look as he asked, hoping Barrel Roll would take the hint.

Thankfully, Barrel Roll could read the room. “I’ll just wait outside,” he said as he stood out of the chair. Walking to the door, he turned back to Shining. “Oh, before I forget, I brought you some burritos from the kitchen. Don’t let them get too cold.”

“Thanks, Barrel.”

Barrel Roll nodded once and stepped out into the hallway, closing the door behind him. When he was gone, Stone Wall relaxed slightly. “Thank you, sir.”

“I meant what I said, Stone Wall. I know the Lieutenant can be... abrasive, but you still need to respect the chain of command.”

“I understand sir. On that matter, I have something for you to look at.” Stone Wall opened the other side of his saddle bags and took out another binder and set it on the desk. “This is a copy of a Letter of Reprimand for Corporal Storm Front on the grounds of Disrespecting a Princess. I already filled out the paperwork, you just need to sign it.”

Shining Armor took the folder gingerly. “A reprimand? What happened?” Stone Wall stiffened at the question, his mannerisms falling back into the formal tones he used with a superior.

“Sir, the first night Princess Cadance visited your stateroom, Corporal Storm Front was on guard rotation outside. The day after, during morning mess, she was heard speculating openly about the nature of the Princess’s visit, claiming to have heard noises indicating unbecoming behavior of you both.” He nodded to the paperwork in Shining’s hoof. “As Acting Commander of the bodyguard, I took the liberty of writing the reprimand, under the assumption that there was no merit to the gossip.”

Shining Armor stared at Stone Wall with a baffled expression.

“... She claimed that Cadance and... excuse me, Princess Cadance and I are in a relationship?”

“More that you had relations, if you catch my meaning, sir.”

Shining Armor frowned at the papers in front of him. An infraction of this nature would have likely resulted in a transfer back in Canterlot. As it happened, they were heading into a potentially volatile political situation. As the commanding officer, while he could remove the troops under his command from duty, he had no authority to place them there, and with the limited pool of potential replacements available to him, it was entirely possible that no one would be considered suitable, leaving him down a soldier until they returned home or received reinforcements.

“Has the Princess been made aware of this incident?”

Stone Wall’s expression hardened. “Not officially, but I know that she heard about it and expressed concern. She did not, however, submit a request that the Corporal be reassigned.”

Well, that settles it. If Cadance had been so bothered by Strom Front’s comments that she didn’t want her around, she would have made it abundantly clear how she felt. “I’m going to withhold signing it for now, though I reserve the right to reverse that decision if she doesn’t get her act together.”

Stone Wall nodded. “I will inform the Corporal of your decision. I am certain she will not do it again.”

That makes one of us. “Make sure she knows what will happen if she does.”

Stone Wall saluted his commander. “Will do. By your leave, sir.”

“Thanks for coming by, Sergeant.”

With that, Stone wall turned and left, closing the door securely behind him. Shining Armor watched the door, half expecting it to open again. When it didn’t, he let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding and slumped back into his bed. The rumors started by Strom was an ill-timed complication. While there was nothing between them, he couldn’t ignore the fact that soldiers would be watching Cadance and him like a foal watched the ice cream colt rolling down the street. It explained why she hadn’t visited him for a second lesson since he was discharged by the doctors.

Great. Now, I have to defend Cadance’s reputation too. This is the last thing I need right now.

He thought back to the first night after he had been released, racking his brain for anything that Storm could have misinterpreted as “inappropriate conduct” between Cadance and him. All he could recall was that Cadance had been in a good mood and very receptive to his jokes and teasing. Beyond being rather giggly, though, he didn’t think anything untoward had happened that evening.

His thoughts were interrupted by a low growl from his stomach. He'd been so focused on the conversation he hadn’t realized that he hadn’t eaten since that morning. Reaching out with his magic, he grabbed the paper bag off the desk and opened it to reveal it was stuffed with individually wrapped burritos.

The door opened, and a grinning Barrel Roll stepped inside. “You gonna finish that?” he teased.

Shining mock shielded the bag from his friend. “These are mine. Get your own.”

“Lucky me, I have a great friend who’s always willing to share.”

Shining Armor rolled his eyes, then tossed a couple of the burritos to Barrel. “That’s it. I'm eating the rest.” He ripped the wrapping off one of the burritos and bit half of it off, chewing slowly as he parsed out its ingredients.

Barrel Roll took his time unwrapping his snack. “Did I ever tell you that I brought the O&O books? I thought we might put together a group while we were deployed. How would you feel about that?”

“Can’t talk. Food.”

“Alright, then, I’ll do the talking. Sheesh.” Barrel Roll's lips formed a sly smile as he watched his friend unwrap a second burrito. He waited for Shining to take a bite, then leaned forward in the chair. “So, I heard you banged Cadance,” he said casually.

Shining Armor’s eyes bulged as the burrito he was shallowing suddenly refused to complete its passage. He pounded on his chest to asset in its journey. “Not...true...” he coughed.

Barrel Roll extended a wing and slapped Shining Armor on the back, clearing his windpipe. “Listen, if you’re going to die of embarrassment, at least tell me the story first.”

“It's not true,” Shining restated. “One of the bodyguards was telling stories about us, I never touched her-”

“Easy, Shiny, I know you two aren’t sleeping together,” Barrel Roll chuckled. “You should have seen the look on your face, though. Priceless.”

Shining Armor's face flushed, and he scowled at Barrel Roll. “It's not funny, Barrel. It's actually a pretty big deal.”

“Cadance didn’t think so when I told her.”

Shining Armor’s jaw dropped. “You told her?”

“Well, yeah,” Barrel Roll shrugged, “Better she hears it from me then through the grapevine, right? At least I can spin it into a joke or something. I didn’t want her to think you were the one who started the rumor.”

Shining Armor paused as he heard Barrel’s point. He'd never even considered that Cadance could be angry at him instead of Storm Front. If the story had evolved into him bragging about getting a Princess in the sack before she had finally heard about it...

“I see your point,” he said grudgingly, “and you said Cadance didn’t make a big deal out of it?”

“Not really, she just said that you didn’t have ‘that kind of friendship.’ Then I said if she was interested in that kind of friendship, I’m still single.”

“You didn’t!”

“Of course I did! You had a marefriend, so maybe you didn’t notice, but Cadance is hot.” He wagged his eyebrows at Shining, “Anyways, that set off Cadance’s attendant. Started yelling about ‘Respect for Royalty’ or something, I tuned her out after a while.”

Shining Armor facehoofed. . He’d only ever seen the mare that shadowed Cadance on rare occasions back in Canterlot and even more infrequently since coming aboard the Ambassador, but even from their brief interactions, he’d picked up on her attitude of “Don’t mess with the Princess”.

He slowly peeled his limb away, eyeing Barrel Roll like he'd just kicked a hornets nest with Shining standing next to him. “Just so you know,” he said, “if you turn up dead in mysterious circumstances, I’m going to tell everyone that it’s your own damn fault.”

“Good to know you’ve got my back, buddy.”

“Anytime.”

There was a period of relative silence as both lieutenants ate their food. As he sat chewing, a question began to gnaw at Shining Armor. He wasn’t sure as to the reason, though. It’s probably nothing. Its none of my business anyways. It's not like it matters, what-

“What did she say?” The words rolled off his tongue almost before he realized it.

Barrel Roll cocked his head. “What do you mean?”

Shining Armor froze, not wanting to repeat his question. Still, he’d said the words, he might as well find out. “What did Cadance say when you.... you know, propositioned her?”

“Oh, that. She just rolled her eyes. It was just a joke, Shiny. You made jokes like that with Picture all the time.”

“Right, right. It'd just be weird if... you know...”

“If we hooked up?”

“Yeah.”

“I mean, I guess. Does it matter?”

“No.”

Barrel Roll gave his friend a bemused look, then shrugged and went back eating his burrito. Internally, Shining Armor let out a sigh of relief. He wasn’t sure why it had mattered at all to him. In fact, there had been a time when he would have thought it pretty cool to see his friends get together, though even he had to admit that the two would have been a terrible match. At some point, though, that had changed, and now he found himself satisfied that Cadance had thoroughly rebuffed Barrel. Guess I was bound to start feeling protective of more than just her physical person at some point.

They finished the rest of their meal as quietly as two soldiers can, which is to say not very, then gathered up the trash and placed it into the paper bag Barrel had brought the burritos in.

“Got a minute to talk about those O&O books you brought?” Shining asked.

Barrel Roll shrugged. “Not really. I have some paperwork that I need to take care of, but we 'll have plenty of time to talk about it after we get to Roam.”

“Let’s plan on that, then. “

With that, Barrel Roll took his leave, stopping to collect trash from around the room for his friend before heading back to his own stateroom. As the latch on the door locked, Shining Armor snuggled into his mattress and closed his eyes. His friend's words about eating and sleeping came back to him, and he scoffed lightly at the humor of the situation. How dare he correctly point out my sleeping habits, he thought to himself with a yawn. I'll show him, I’ll come up with some creative practice exercises for the guard before I go to sleep...

The magelights that lit up the corners of his room flashed a few times, then winked out entirely as the source of their power began to snore lightly in his bed.

Author's Note

Part One of a two-part chapter. I should have the second part up in a few days when I finish editing it down.

Chapter 7. 2 - ...Do as the Roamans do.

Two days later, a fully restored Shining Armor stood in the officer's shower, eyes shut tight as water beaded off his back and mane. After a very thorough checkup from the doctor came back all-clear, he had wasted no time gathering his uniform and heading to the showers. He’d been cleaned in the meantime of course; a nurse had come by every morning since he’d been placed on bed rest. He wasn’t ungrateful for that; after all, he needed to be cleaned and his dressing changed, and the nurse had been perfectly helpful but... well, a grizzled stallion wasn’t exactly what Shining had in mind when he’d found out he would be receiving sponge baths for a week.

He took a deep breath of steam and licked his lips, tasting the salty droplets that had collected in his whiskers. Whatever water-purification charms they were using needed a tune-up. I’ll mention it to the captain when I see him. Assuming he doesn’t already know. And that he cares.

Shining had to admit, there were probably more urgent things on the captain's mind at the moment. If his initial calculations were correct, the Ambassador should have reached port early this morning. She was still sailing, so obviously they hadn't been, but even so. We can’t be too far from port by now.

He opened his eyes and watched the water drip off his barrel, forming hypnotic swirls as it pooled and drained into the square catch in the middle of the shower floor. Between the heat and flow of the water on his back, combined with the rhythmic beat of the water drops, he’d been in a trancelike state of blissful existence.

It was for this reason that he ignored the door to the washroom opening and the sounds of hooves walking over to stand outside the shower. Seeing how the wash room wascommunal, it wasn’t all that unusual for someone to come in, do their business, and then leave without comment. However, after a few minutes, Shining felt his hackles rise, a sign that usually warned him something was off.

When the sensation didn’t go away, he poked his head out of the shower and came face-to- face with a tall, peach-colored earth pony with sapphire eyes and a frown as pointed as the tips of her spectacles. Her magenta mane, which had been wrapped in a tight bun on top of her head had started to unravel from exposure to the dense steam cloud filling the room. She looked vaguely familiar, but he couldn’t quite remember where he had seen her before.

The two stared at each other for long moment before Shining’s mouth caught up with his brain. “Uhhhh… can I help you?”

The mare gave him a long look up and down. When her gaze returned to his eyes, she frown was deeper. “The Princess has requested you attend to her at your earliest convenience.”

Shining Armor’s ear twitched. Her voice was surprisingly deep for mare of her small stature, definitely not what he expected. More troublesome was that irritated frown on her muzzle. Could this not have waited till I was finished? “Thank you for informing me, miss...?”

The unspoken question hung between them. When the mare failed to provide an answer, an awkward silence began to grow. After a few seconds, he let out a sigh. “Alright, just let me finish my shower, and I’ll-“

“You have been in here for over an hour at this point,” she said briskly. “More than enough time to steam clean your withers. I will do you the courtesy of informing you that coming now would be far more convenient for you then forcing the princess to wait on you any longer.”

Shining Armors face flushed. He’d enjoyed being in the water so much, he’d completely ignored the passage of time. Still, her barging in here and demanding his presence like this grated on him. He stood a little straighter, making the most of his considerable height advantage over her. "Can I at least get dressed first?”

“Quickly, if you please.”

Shining Armor nodded and closed the wicker partition, his ears twitching in annoyance as he listened to her leave.Shaking his head, he turned the water off and picked his towel up off the shelf next to the stall. As he unfolded it, a knife, still in its sheath, fell to the floor where it bounced off the point and hit the side of the stall with a *Bang*. He winced at the noise and silently chided himself for forgetting he’d tucked the knife in there to begin with.

The weapon was an heirloom passed down from his great- Grandmother, the last member of his family to serve in the guard, but the knife itself was far, far older than she. Attempts over the years to have it dated had come up empty, other than determining that it was “old” which had been remarkably unhelpful. Still, whatever magic or metallurgy had gone into its construction had kept it just as able to slice through flesh and bone as the day it had been forged. By all rights it should be on display on a wall, not dumped unceremoniously onto the floor by some foal of a stallion.

He picked it up and examined it, looking for any signs of damage and considered the silliness of his situation. A month ago, he’d never have brought a weapon with him to the bathroom, or worried about always having one within reach. In fact, he’d have been much more concerned that the other guards would think him paranoid or even unstable. Now he couldn’t care less what they thought of him.

No damage, at least not on the sheath. He slid the knife out just enough to check the blade. No damage there either.

Satisfied, he sheathed the weapon and set it back on the shelf, then finished drying himself off. Once that was done, he slipped on his uniform and belted the knife to his hip, taking an extra second to ensure it would not bounce around and slap his side as he walked. That should do.

He opened the door to the hall and stepped out. Outside stood the familiar mare stood silently, the same frown upon her face. “Are you ready?”

He nodded. “Lead the way.”

With that she turned and walked down the hallway with him in tow. As they walked, he tried to engage her in small talk, but his few attempts fell flat, creating an increasingly awkward silence. After the third one, he decided to keep his thoughts to himself.

What’s with all the dramatics? If Cadance needs to speak to me, I know where to find her. She’s either in her room or on the main deck watching her ponies, and she’s not exactly hard to miss. The two of them rounded a corner and began walking towards Cadance’s and his staterooms. I know they added a passphrase to her security measures. Maybe they added a secret knock? It would be on brand right now...

The mare walked past their rooms without so much as a glance. He stopped, looked at the door the Princess Suite, then back at her. Huh. He shrugged, then continued to follow her as she made her way through the Ambassador. After a few minutes, she came to a stop in front of the large double doors that led to the Mess Hall, the same ones he had fled through in shame at the start of their journey.

I’ve never seen Cadance anywhere near the mess before. What in Tartarus is going on?

The mare turned around looked at him, her expression solemn. “The Princess is waiting for you inside. Prepare yourself.”

Shining Armor’s mind raced. “Prepare for what, exactly?”

“Your final test.” The doors swung open of their own accord, and he saw inside. The Mess Hall was usually lit by two dozen massive chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, keeping the giant room at a consistent level of harsh lighting. Now, the room as almost pitch black with a single point of light in the center of the room. In his mind's eye, he imagined that he stood at the mouth of a massive, unknown cavern. He took a step back, trying not to let the sudden fear that gripped him show. Instinctively he reached for the small vial of Liquid Light that he kept in his pocket whenever he left the confines of the city and stopped when he remembered that he had left them in his barracks back in Canterlot. Damn. I need to put in a request to have to have some brought on the first supply shipment from home.

“Ah.” He paused and gave a silent prayer that his voice wouldn’t betray the panic that was rapidly growing within him.“So, I just go in there?”

“Yes.” He could hear the derision in her voice. “That is why you are here, after all.”

“Right.” He walked up to the entry-way, hesitated, then looked back at the mystery mare. “Thank you.” He knew he was stalling, and he suspected she did too, though hopefully the reason for that was less obvious.

The mare cocked an eyebrow. “Your gratitude is entirely unnecessary. I am merely following the Princess’s commands.” She nodded towards the light in the middle of the room. “As you should be.”

“Well, thanks anyways.”

He took a deep breath and concentrated his magic, putting everything he had into creating a mage-light. The magic coalesced and manifested as a bright sphere at the tip of his horn, covering the point like a bright red tennis ball. Well, here goes nothing.

He stepped into the room. To his dismay, he found that his light was doing far less to push back the darkness then he had anticipated. Perhaps, rather than putting out each and every chandelier they had opted to cast a Darkness spell in the room? But then why turn out the light at all?

Even with the light suppressed as it was, it didn’t take long for him to realize that the usual arrangement of tables and benches were missing. That made his walk easier, but he still took his time to ensure that he didn’t embarrass himself by running headlong into something or tripping over his own hooves.

Don’t stumble, don’t stumble, don’t stumble-

At last, he reached the edge of the circle of light. The light, which had been almost blinding from the doorway, had softened considerably. He dismissed his own light with a flick of thought and stepped into the circle.

Now that he was close, he could see the massive orb floating above an ornate table set for two guests. Cadance sat in the chair on the opposite side of the table from him, engrossed in a book as she gently stirred a cup of tea on the table in front of her. Her mane had been done up in some kind of complicated braid that Shining had never seen before, but looked like the kind of thing young mares spent hours practicing at sleepovers.

He checked that his uniform was still prim, then bowed and cleared his throat. “Your Highness, I believe you summoned me?”

Cadance looked over the edge of her book in a comical, if unintentional, impression of his sister. “There you are!” She set the book aside. “I was beginning to wonder if the doctor had been a little too optimistic about your recovery. Come, sit and tell me how you are feeling.”

Shining stood and looked up at Cadance, who smiled as their eyes met. Personally, he’d always thought that Cadance had a smile that could light up a room. Literally, in this case, as he felt the darkness pressing in from outside the circle of light lessen ever so slightly.

He smiled back. How could he not? “Much better, thank you. I’m sorry I wasn’t here sooner. I went to take a quick shower-”

“-And ended up taking a little longer than you expected.” Her eyes twinkled in amusement. “An hour grooming, and you could not find time to put on any cologne? We really need to work on your daily routine.”

He pulled out the chair and sat down. The cushion was absolutely delightful on his haunches. “Is this a date?” he asked in a serious tone.

“No.”

“Then why would I need to wear perfume?”

Cadance rolled her eyes. “Cologne isn’t perfume, Shining. It’s an olfactory advertisement for single stallions. Honestly, does no one take courtship seriously anymore?”

Shining’s smile faded. “Well, when I’m looking to get back into dating, I’ll keep that in mind.”

There was an awkward pause as Cadence realized what she had said. Her hoof covered her mouth, and she blushed in embarrassment. “I‘m sorry, I didn't’ mean to-”

“It’s fine, Cadance. Let’s just pretend you never mentioned it. Okay?”

She nodded once. “Very well.”

He glanced around, searching for a way to change the topic and found one immediately. “Cadance... what happened to all the lights? I get that I’m about to be tested, but I didn’t realize it would involve an actual interrogation.”

“Oh, that. I had this portion of the room darkened and muted to avoid any distractions for you. There are still some preparations to be made for our arrival, and the kitchen still needs to keep everyone fed while we work.” She pointed in the rough direction of the cooking section. “I expect there's a herd watching us just a few paces away.”

The message was clear: We’re in public. Act like it.

He dipped his head in silent acknowledgment. “Are they able to hear us too?”

“No, I want our conversation to stay between us.”

“Of course.”

He eyed the crockery laid out in front of Cadance. Whoever had set the table had gone all out, with the full complement of saucers for the food dishes laid out in the traditional Roaman fashion. Be nice if there was some actual food to go with them.

Cadance clapped her hooves twice, and half dozen servants suddenly appeared next to them carrying a plethora of Zebra dishes. Before he knew it, they had laid out an array of colorful (if somewhat small) salads. Instinctively he started to reach out with his magic for a fork before recalling that Zebras didn’t use cutlery like the high-society unicorns of Canterlot. Instead, they ate out of bowls the way the more rural earth ponies often did. He smiled to himself as he thought of how his mother had chided him for doing so when he was young. “Little colts who don’t use their horns to eat proper don’t learn magic,” she'd say, usually as she was wiping oatmeal off his muzzle.

Jokes on you, mom. Turns out I was eating like a prince the whole time.

He selected one of the dishes and gave it a little tug with his magic, tugging it over to him. He was about to empty its contents into a larger, deeper bowl in front of him when Cadance gave a little cough. He looked up at her to see a slight frown on her face. Without taking her eyes off him, she reached out and took one of the bowls in booth hooves, then tipped it slightly and gently poured the salad into her own bowl.

He felt heat rush to his face, but maintained composure and followed suit, being careful to get every piece of the salad into the dish. When he looked back up, he was relieved to see her smile had returned. She lifted her tea cup and took a sip, then placed it back on the table.

“Excellent. Now, perhaps we could start by you telling me everything you know about King Heffer the Cloven?”

So began the longest, most intensive verbal test that Shining Armor would ever take in his life. Cadance was relentless in her questioning, from geography, to politics, to simple table manners which were acted out over a highly formalized seven-course meal. Everything they had ever discussed, no matter how briefly, was quizzed for a flaw in his knowledge. When the last crumbs of desert had been devoured, and every topic thoroughly exhausted, his command of all things Roaman had almost impressed her.

Almost.

Shining Armor groaned as he massaged his temples. Hours of questioning had given him a throbbing headache. Worse still had been the injury to his pride. In his week of studying, he’d convinced himself that he knew everything there was to know about Roam; A few hours with Cadance had shown him the error in that.

She still sat across from him, now surrounded by a pile of books and scrolls that had been produced over the course of the dinner. The way she had taken notes on his answers made him feel like a school-colt, giving a presentation in front of the class, only far worse.

"So... How bad did I do?"

“Not as poorly as you seem to think." She jotted a few more notes down, then set both pen and paper down. “Admittedly, you are lacking in a few areas, but given the situation I think we can work with this.”

Shining Armor ceased his massaging and glanced up at her, feeling ever so slightly less crestfallen. “What areas?”

“Well, for starters, your grasp on current events is not what I hoped it would be, given how we are living one of the most significant political moments in Roams’s history. Knowledge about important political figures is all over the place, you kept confusing historical individuals for current ones. On the other hoof, you know the history of the Empire backwards and forwards, and your geography was impeccable.

"As far as etiquette is concerned, your skills are… passable, though we will want to continue to work on them. As long as you don’t talk to anyone too important for a little while, we should avoid any international incidents.”

Shining tilted his head. “That sounds dangerously close to a failure.”

Cadance cocked an eyebrow. “Are you challenging my assessment?”

“No.”

“Good.” She poured the last bit of tea from her teapot into her cup. “I know you are eager to rejoin the bodyguard, but perhaps you would like to sit and rest a moment?”

Shining Armor considered her offer. On the one hoof, he was ready to get back to his troop and check on Barrel Roll and Stone Wall. A week might be a short absence in the grand scheme of things, but when he’d only had the command for a little over a month it felt like a lot longer. On the other, Cadance sounded eager to talk, though that could just be his fatigue making him hear what he wished. Then again, if I'm tired enough to be hearing things, I should probably rest a minute. Besides, who am I to say no to a Princess?

“They’ve made it over a week without me-" he said with a shrug, "-they can wait a few minutes more.”

Cadance beamed. “My thoughts exactly. Besides, it’s been some time since we were able to just talk.”

“That’s not your fault.”

She shook her head. “Perhaps not, but I still feel bad about it. Preparing for our arrival has taken up quite a bit of time. Between that and…. Other considerations, I wasn’t able to pay a visit.”

“And by ‘other considerations’, you mean-“

She nodded. “Not feeding the rumor mill, yes."

His smile faded. That explains why she did this in public. “My apologies for the role Storm played in starting those rumors, your Highness. It will not happen again on my watch.”

Cadance giggled. “Don’t make promises others can’t keep, Shining.” She took a sip of her tea. “While it is unfortunate that it happened, it wasn’t surprising to hear that talk about us had started.”

Shining Armor blinked. “I’m sorry, what?”

Cadance gestured to herself. “Shining, I am the Princess of Love. Everypony I spend a lot of time with comes under scrutiny as a potential paramour. Guards, servants, friends, one magazine even claimed I was having an affair with Celestia! Can you imagine?”

I can now… Stars Above...

She shook her head in disgust. “I mean, we’ve been close for decades, and certainly she’s always doted on me, but ew! No. No, no, no. She’s like a second mother to me.” She noticed his glazed-over expression and cocked her head. “Are you alright?”

Shining’s attention snapped away from the pair of Princesses in his mind to the one sitting before him. “Uh, yeah, gross,” he said quickly. “I can’t believe anybody would publish that.”

“You’d be surprised how often that sort of thing happens. One of my hobbies is reviewing literature for Canterlot Daily, under a pseudonym of course. A lot of erotic fiction features a thinly veiled reference to me or Celestia as the main love interest.” Her nose scrunched in annoyance. “Honestly, they could at least try to be subtle about it.”

Shining Armor stared at her in shock. “And you allow them to depict you that way?”

Cadance shrugged. “It’s the way things are, you get used to it after a while. All that to say, the fact that we spend a lot of time together, even though you are my bodyguard, meant rumors were bound to spring up around us eventually.”

“That doesn’t really help much.”

“Consider it a tidbit of wisdom from someone with a longer perspective.”

He wagged his eyebrows. “A bit of elderly advice, eh?”

Cadace cocked an eyebrow. “You know, it’s not too late for me to fail you.”

“Worth it.”

She stuck her tongue out at him. “Jerk.”

He smirked. “Grandma.”

“You know-” a familiar voice pierced the darkness surrounding them, “-If I hadn’t known you two for so long, I'd start to wonder about you myself, the way you both carry on.” From the side of the table, Barrel Roll stepped into the light. “Honestly, it's no wonder ponies are starting to talk.”

Cadance, who had been visibility startled by Barrel’s sudden intrusion, blinked a few times and smiled. “Hello, Barrel. Come to take your own test?”

“Hardly,” he snorted, “I’m more than happy to leave that to Shiny. No, I’m here to tell you- excuse me, to ask you to wrap it up.”

“And just how long were you standing there listening to us?” Shining Armor asked pointedly. “Doesn’t that kind of defeat the purpose of telling us to hurry up?”

Barrel Roll made a mock gesture of offense “I wasn’t listening, I was being patient,” he said defensively, though it was clear from his eyes that he didn’t mean it. “You can’t just swoop in and interrupt a conversation; you have to time it just right or it completely destroys the drama of the reveal.”

Shining Armor rolled his eyes. Cadance shook her head slightly, but her smile became a little less forced. “And that reveal is...?”

“We came within sight of Roam half an hour ago.” He paused. “We made it.”

The three of them were silent. Shining’s mind started to race, his own feelings a confusing mix of relief, anxiety, and anticipation. Across the table from him, he caught a momentary glimpse of the same cocktail in Cadance’s eyes, before she put on her “princess face” and nodded. “Very well, then.” She said, her voice steady and authoritative. “Let’s begin our final preparations. Lieutenant Roll, I want you to led our parade formation. Lieutenant Armor will be handling security when we dock, and I want you provide as many Guards as he needs to ensure the Ambassador’s safety.”

He nodded. “Can do.”

“Good. You’re dismissed.” With that, Barrel turned and plunged out of sight.

“I should get going,” Shining said as he stood up out of the chair. “I still have too much to do and not enough time to do it.”

“Indeed.” Cadance stood gracefully, almost floating out of the chair and stretched. Shining’s eyes followed her body for a moment before he caught himself and looked away, hoping the heat he felt in his face wasn’t showing. When she finished, she turned back to him. “I’m glad we had a chance to talk, even if it was just for a few minutes.”

He nodded. “Me too.”

Cadance gave him a soft smile. “See you soon, Lieutenant.” She turned and walked away, disappearing into the darkness.

Shining let out a sigh. Too soon. He looked around at the inky blackness around him, then back up at the single point of light above him. Guess I’ll take care of this. He reached out with his magic and touched the magelight, taking a moment to study the warm, soothing feel of the magic fueling it, then closed his eyes and extinguished it. The darkness it had been holding back rushed in and for a second, he imagined he could feel it crawling over him, trying to find its way inside. Fear swarmed him just as quickly, threatening to leave him petrified. He let out a growl and steeled himself, then opened his eyes. While it didn’t help him see any better, the terror he felt receded ever so slightly. Thus, once again resolute, he took a step forward. Then another, and another, each one coming quicker than the previous, and made his way into the light.

Author's Note

Special thanks to Eltirions, who reassured me that I hadn't lost my sanity and put me back on the right track to finish the chapter. They are a very talented and prolific writer, and I am immensely grateful for them. Go check them out.

I also would like to thank MioBlu for inspiring me to finish the last leg of the chapter by their artwork. They were inspired by Rules for Bodyguards to craft some wonderful pieces, which you can check out at their blog, their Deviantart, or their Tumblr. I am humbled and honored by their creations, and you should check them out as well.

Chapter 8 - If you want to come out again, don’t go in blind

It was darker outside than Shining had been expecting. When he’d left his room the sun was still bright, if less harsh as it shone through his small window, but now the sky was overcast, and the wind tugged at the tips of his ears with an unexpected nippiness given how close to the equator Roam was.

His eyes drifted to the rocky cliffs that formed the seaside edge of the cove that Roam had been built around, and had steadily grown larger over the course of the day. From his vantage point on the forecastle, he could see the neck of the gap that formed the channel between the ocean and the largest natural harbor in the known world. It was a feature that had made the city the largest shipping and trade hub in this hemisphere. Indeed, they had passed over a dozen fishing boats since first laying eyes on the cliffs, all of them heading out towards deeper waters.

Lucky we left Seaddle when we did. A few days later and we’d be battling the weather as well as assassins.

He glanced up at the dark clouds overhead and grimaced. There were no weather control teams here in Zebrica, or at least nothing like they had back home. A single ray of sunshine pierced through a gap in the clouds overhead, causing his vision to go spotty for a few seconds. After a week, the soft lighting used in his cabin made even a brief exposure of unfiltered sunlight eye-wateringly bright. He wiped the tears away and turned his attention back to the sea.

To port and aft, where once had been open ocean, now a dozen or so smaller trawlers, tugboats, and fishing vessels cut through the waves, on their way out to more open water and away from the cliffs ahead. He'd asked the captain of the Ambassador why they would leave the safety of the harbor at all, given the weather. The captain had just given him a grim smile.

“Bein’ a fisher ain’t like havin’ a city job, boy. When the fish are in the water, so’re you. You have’t try’en get the biggest haul you can, ‘fore the fish move t’ warmer waters. Those mares’ll fish till the waves are breaking over the keel to feed them families this winter.”

That had given Shining food for thought. He’d known, thanks to his lessons from Cadance, that fish was a much bigger part of the Roaman diet than back in Equestria. There, most seafood was only harvested for export or, more rarely for consumption in some villages with earth pony heritage. Not exactly something I'm looking forward to myself. I practically lived on grass in bootcamp, I could do it again if I had to, I suppose. His stomach twisted at the thought, though whether from the idea of eating grass or fish, he couldn’t tell.

He shook his head to clear his mind, trying to think of something else. He switched to the task of guarding the Ambassador, and just how it could be accomplished with their relatively limited ponypower. In the end, it all hinged on just how secure the docks themselves would be, and how much the Roamans would be willing to chip in to assist. It was inconceivable that Equestria would ever leave foreign dignitaries to fend for themselves, but he had no real conceptualization of how the Roamans viewed such things. Being a more martial culture, would they send a strong guard to protect the Ambassador from bad actors, or would they consider that an insult, a silent implication that the Equestrians were helpless to protect themselves? Perhaps they would view it both ways? Without any certainty, he had to act as if there would be no protection given by the Roaman government, even if he thought it unlikely.

His walk came to a pause as he nearly bumped into a herd of soldiers and sailors that were pressed against the edge of the ship, trying to catch a glimpse of the strange creatures that made up the crews of the boats they had passed. His eyes fell on a particularly familiar cluster of ponies in the center of the herd.

“Heading my way, sailor?”

Shining looked up and saw Barrel Roll hovering a few paces above him, forelegs crossed and a grin plastered on his muzzle.

“There you are,” Shining said, “I was wondering where you had darted off to.”

Barrel tucked his wings and dropped suddenly. Despite his speed, his landing was incredibly graceful. “Sorry about that. Had to deal with a personal issue between some of my ponies that was brought to my attention before we landed.”

Shining Armor nodded. Personal issues was a common euphemism for the improper relationships, or, more commonly, the fallout of those relationships ending, that commonly cropped up between members of the Guard.

He remembered that he was once again on duty and gave Barrel a quick salute. Even if Barrel Roll had never once commented on it, it was important to be an example of good order for the rest of the guard. After Barrel returned it, he let his hoof drop. “Nothing too serious, I hope.”

“Nothing a little rearrangement of personnel couldn’t fix.”

“Good.” he glanced at the mass of ponies crowded at the guardrail. “We need to discuss security for the Ambassador.”

“About that. I’ve been thinking about the ponypower we need, and there’s something else we haven’t considered.”

Shining cocked his head. “What's that?”

“Well, the fact that we’re seeing the Embassy for the first time when we actually arrive. A building with Roaman architecture, built by Romans, with a lot of forewarning that we’re on the way.”

The pieces began to fall into place for Shining. “You’re talking about secret entrances?”

“Secret entrances, passageways, there could be anything hidden away in there, and how would we even know?”

Damn. I hadn’t even considered that. “So another security problem for us to handle. Great.” He glanced at Roll out of the corner of his eye. “I don’t suppose you have any architects in your staff, do you?”

“You know, when I was personally picking them out, I completely forgot to look for one with a floorplan cutie mark.” Barrel Roll said sarcastically. “How silly of me.”

“One of the Bodyguards has some trapping experience. Maybe we can tap him to lead the search?”

Barrel Roll shrugged. “Beats anyone I've got.” He looked around for a few seconds, then waved to a green unicorn mare bearing a lieutenant's insignia. She trotted over at a brisk pace, then came to attention before them. “Lieutenant Armor, meet my second, Lieutenant Rose.”

Shining sized up the mare. Her cutie mark, a rose bud with its stem forming a circle around it, thorns bristling outwards. It wasn’t the most encouraging mark he’d ever seen, but then again, his mother had always taught him to never judge a mare by her mark.

He nodded towards her. “Nice to put a face to the name.” He’d seen her around, of course, and Barrel Roll had mentioned her name in passing, but there was enough independence between their separate branches that he’d never met her properly before now.

He could see her going through the same process, sizing him up, comparing what she knew with what she was seeing now. “Lieutenant Armor. I’d heard you were still on bed rest. How’s the shoulder?”

“I’ve had worse.” That belied the fact that it was quite sore still, even if the skin had fully healed over and the muscle was knitted. Still, it was the truth. “I take it she’s going too?”

Rose glanced at Barrel Roll. “Going, Sir?”

“We need to scout the embassy. I want you to command our guardsmares while Shining’s ponies take point searching the place. You’ll be providing security and support for them, whatever they need. Can you do that?”

She looked between the two of them. “You want me and not Lieutenant Armor to go?”

Her confusion was understandable. While technically she and Shining held the same rank, Shining was her senior officer by virtue of his position as Bodyguard. Indeed, strictly speaking, he had authority over anypony of the same or lesser rank, minus Celestia’s own personal guard. That combined with the fact that most of the bodyguard was going, made the choice a bit odd, but then, Cadance had asked them what they had preferred. She must be stressing over our arrival.

Shining shrugged. “Orders from the princess herself. I’ll remain here to secure the ship and join you later.”

Rose nodded. “Very well, if those are orders.”

“They are,” Barrel Roll said. “How many squads should we send? There’s not a lot of extra hooves to go around right now.”

“I was thinking one squad each for Trip and Trick,” Shining said, “and another two squads for back up. That should be enough to secure the building.”

“We could take Second Platoon,” Rose offered. “We’re mostly unicorns, with a squad of Pegasi for aerial support. That would probably be enough pony power to get it done safe and quick.”

Barrel Roll mulled over this. “Seems reasonable to me. What do you think, Shining?”

Shining looked at Rose, a smirk tugging at the edge of his lips. “I take it the ‘Second’ in Second Platoon isn’t short for second best?”

Rose’s ears flicked in annoyance. “No, sir! We’re the best damn mage company on this sorry ship.”

“Good. We need the best to make sure there won’t be any unpleasant surprises waiting for us there.” He looked at Barrel Roll. “What about the Ambassador? Would one platoon be enough?”

“We’ll leave two platoons here for now. We can always shift ponies once we’re settled.”

“Will that leave enough for the escort?”

Barrel Roll shrugged. “I’ll take most of the Pegasi and the rest of the unicorns with me. That should be enough to make anyone reconsider their life’s choices. Worse comes to worst, we fly back to the ship.”

Shining nodded. “We’ll need some royal chariots to move the scout force. How many did we bring?”

“Enough.” Barrel said. He turned to Rose. “Head down to the hold and requisition what you need. I want you in the air in less than an hour. You’ll also need to speak with someone and let them know who you are and what your mission is. If they give you trouble, just wait for us to arrive and we’ll sort it out.”

“Yes sir!” She gave him a salute and trotted off.

Shining watched her leave. “She seems capable. You’re sure she won’t try and buck Trip?”

Barrel Roll shook his head. “Rose is a professional. She’s been doing this longer than you or I have. She’ll follow the chain of command.”

“I’ll have to tell my ponies.”

“Well don’t wait too long. They need to leave in a hour too.”

“One more minute, then I’ll inform them.”

The two stood next to each other, sharing a moment of silence as they watched the cliffs creep closer. They were considerably larger than they had been when Shining had left the hold of the ship.

“Hard to believe we actually made it,” Shining muttered. “It all felt so… distant, even just yesterday. Almost like it was a dream, you know? Being the first Equestrians to really see Roam in generations. It’s kinda crazy.”

Barrel Roll gave Shining a wink and a grin. “I’m looking forward to being the first ones to return from Roam, if you know what I mean.”

Shining Armor rolled his eyes. “Because that’s what’s important here. Not the historic moment, not the history books that our foals will be reading for centuries to come. No, what matters is getting laid for our troubles.”

“Precisely!” Barrel Roll said. “You put too much stock in history, Shiny. No one’s going to remember that anybody but a princess was ever here. In fact, I bet one day they’ll say that Cadance did the whole thing by herself.”

Shining Armor shook his head, but didn’t suppress his chuckle. “So, as long as we’ve got mares, who needs a legacy, right?”

“Now you get it.”

“Sure, bud.”

Barrel Roll bumped Shining playfully. “Get to it. Lieutenant. My second will find you when we’re ready to move.”

“On it.”

Barrel Roll leapt into the air and flew back towards the rear of the ship. Shining turned back towards the herd of sailors and soldiers gathering together at the front of the ship. He saw the bodyguard still, in the center of the herd, surrounded by others and almost impossible to reach.

His eye fell on another familiar pony closer to the back of the herd. Private Port Key, you’ll do. Port Key was the youngest and greenest member of the Bodyguard, having been put on an accelerated training program in the basic military academy due to his rare talent in translocation and teleportation spells. Indeed, considering the requirements to be eligible for a position in the bodyguard, they were fortunate to have him. They were less fortunate in that he knew that too, and was prone to taking every opportunity to show off his prowess to the rest of them. He took particular delight in materializing next to ponies without warning, regardless of the effect it had on his peers' blood pressure.

Well, turnabout was fair play.

Shining smiled to himself as he walked up behind the newest recruit, then cleared his throat. “Private Key!” he said in his best ‘pissed officer’ tone.

Private Port Key spun on a dime, his hoof already up in a salute as he turned. “Present, Sir…” he looked at Shining, and his eyes widened. “Lieutenant Armor?”

“In the flesh.” He noticed Keys' ears twitching frantically and suppressed a smile. “Something wrong, Private Key?”

Port Key took a deep breath. “No sir. I thought you were… no, sir.”

Interesting. He made a mental note to check up on Key’s activities at a later date. “Good. I want you to gather everyone not guarding the Princess and have them up here for a meeting” he nodded towards the group of ponies. “I’ll collect those four. Be back here in five minutes.”

He shouldered his way through the crowd to stand directly behind Trip Wire, Flint Lock, Shot Put, and Storm Front. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, Flint Lock flared her wings. “Oh, look!” she exclaimed, “We’re passing another ship!” She pointed over the rail down towards a small fishing trawler that was sailing in the opposite direction.

The four pressed together, taking in the strange creatures that made up the crews of the ships they had passed. He peered over the edge and saw another trawler passing by the Ambassador, the four zebra and one minotaur on board staring back up at them in awe.

The two parties locked eyes, neither breaking contact as they slid past each other. After a few seconds, Flint Lock hopped into the air, hovering slightly above the others, where she waved excitedly to the other ship.

What she was expecting to happen, Shining would never know, but considering the sudden shouting that broke out aboard the vessel, he doubted very much she’d gotten the reaction she’d expected.

The corporal landed lightly on her hind legs. “They seem nice. A little excitable perhaps.”

Shot Put shrugged. “Better shouting at themselves then us, I guess.”

“Welp, that’s pretty typical if you’d ever met anybody who’d likes fishin’. Tend to get worked up over bites like they were still a colt, they do.”

“I think we're more exciting then fish, Trip.” Storm Front said, sounding slightly annoyed.

“Well, now that’s really a matter’o taste, ain’t it?”

“Heh, if they look like those studs, I’d be happy to let them have a nibble.” Flint muttered.

Shining cocked an eyebrow. He hadn't pegged Flint as a raunchy mare, but then again, she was the only member of the bodyguard with a foal. He cleared his throat, and Flint turned and looked at him, her cheeks going red as she realized she had said that aloud within earshot of her superior.

“Oh! Hello, Lieutenant. I, uh, did not see you there.”

The rest of the bodyguards turned and looked at him in surprise.

“LT!” Trip Wire said cheerily with a quick salute. “Howdy! You seen all the zeebs yet?”

“They’re ‘zebras’, corporal, and yes, I’ve seen a few of them.” He stepped up to the edge of the rail and looked out over the side. Several ships were plainly visible now,with only a few of them equipped with sails, the rest probably calling Roam home. “It’s not just zebras who live in Roam, you know. We’re likely to see all manner of creatures there.”

“I heard Roam used to be a minotaur city.” Shot Put added. “They even have a whole section that’s built special for bipeds.”

“There’s a couple of resident bipeds in Roam,” Shining corrected. “Minotaur, Parakeet. Plenty of Satyr live in Roam these days, even if they are technically independent”

“We gonna negotiate with them too?”

Shining shrugged. “That's for the princess to decide.”

Flint Lock perked up slightly. “We should at least be having relations with them right?” Her blush deepened as she realized her exact words. “I mean, figuratively speaking. And we should be promoting good relations, right? Well, I mean not really ‘relations’, more like-“

Trip Wire cleared his throat. “Hey, Flint?”

“Yes?”

“Shut up.”

“Of course, I… *ehm*. Right.”

There was a long pause as the awkwardness of the conversation blew away in the ocean breeze, then Shining smirked and shook his head slightly. “We’re mustering on the aft castle in five. I expect you all there ready for new orders. Understood?”

All four ponies answered in the affirmative.

“Then I’ll see you there. Dismissed,”

The four ponies saluted him, then walked past him headed for aft.. “And Flint?” She stopped and looked back at him. “Try not to establish any ‘good relations’ until we’re settled.”

Flint Lock blushed, turned back around and walked just a little quicker to catch up with the rest of her fellows. Shining chuckled softly to himself. Flint Lock had been the most high energy of the bodyguard thus far, and while he appreciated her eagerness, he didn’t want her distracted from the mission.

It should have been her in charge of the Pegasi squad, not Storm. At least then I wouldn't have to worry about what was being said behind my back. He walked along the side rail towards the front of the ship, taking in the sight and smell of the sea as he went. Soon enough he’d be back on dry land, and while he missed it, the sea journey hadn’t been as terrible as he’d feared. Minus the assassination attempts, of course.

When he arrived he was pleased to see almost everyone there, with the exception of Shot Put, Trick Shot, and Port Key. The bodyguard was lined up by section and with a sharp order from Stonewall, came to attention. There was an explosion of teal light to his right, causing Shining’s heart to jump into his throat. Beside him a gold unicorn with a teal boot for a cutie mark had materialized out of thin air.

A very smug Port Key saluted him. “All ponies accounted for, sir!”

Shining Armor nodded, trying not to show the pounding in his chest. “Thank you, private.” He waited for Port Key to join the rest of the bodyguard, then walked up and turned to face them.

“Alright gentlemares, playtime is over! I know you all are ecstatic to see me again, but we’re on a tight schedule. First, let me thank you for covering for me while I was recovering. I spoke with the princess earlier, and she seems to be quite safe for the moment. Unfortunately, we’re hours away from being unwelcome guests in unfriendly territory. I know you’re the best Royal Guards on this ship, but our potential enemies don’t know that yet, and there’s a lot more of them. Because of this, I’m increasing our rotation from two guards with the Princess at all times to three once we reach land.”

There was a subtle shift in attitude as they took this in. Currently the schedule called for six hour shifts, with plenty of down-time in between. This change would mean more work with less time off for everyone, with the obvious exception of Shining himself. At least, it would have if he had left it there. “I’ll be replacing one of you on your shifts each day, so that you have the opportunity to get a little R&R and shuffle our routines a little bit.” The tension eased slightly, and more than one pair of shoulders relaxed just a little. “Now, before we pull into the port, we have another task demanded of us.”

He pointed in the direction of the cliffs. “There's an embassy building in Roam waiting for us. Unfortunately, we have very little information about it, other than that it's around a fifteen minute walk from the Imperial Palace. Before we move the princess into it, we need to make sure it’s secure, which means we need to check for traps, glyphs, secret passages, anything that could compromise the security of the building. In light of this, I’m sending most of you there ahead of us before we arrive to sweep the embassy so we can move the princess as soon as possible.”

That caught them by surprise. “Us, Sir?” Stone Walled asked hesitantly.

“Yes. The Princess has assigned me to secure the Ambassador once we arrive. She’ll have the full weight of the garrison between her and any threats between hereand the embassy. As such, I want you on scene to coordinate the search team.” Shining nodded towards Trip and Port. “Especially our spellcasters. I’m guessing there will be a lot of rune magic used in the construction. We need to make sure nothing harmful is hidden amongst them.”

Port shifted his weight from side to side nervously. “Begging your pardon, sir, but runes are a little outside of my area of expertise.”

“You’ll just be there for the initial sweep, Key. Once that’s done, you’ll rejoin the Ambassador.”

Flint Lock raised a wing. “What about us? I can check every inch of the building, but I don’t know the first thing about magic.”

“You, Trick, and Storm will be responsible for tracking which areas have been searched and delivering messages between everyone, and us, if necessary. You’ll also be the ones hauling everyone up there. We brought a couple of Royal Chariots with us. Lieutenant Rose is requisitioning them now, I want you to head down and assist her in getting them ready. You leave as soon as they’re cleared for flight.”

Flint raised an eyebrow. “How many ponies are we talking, sir?”

“Colonel Roll is sending his Second platoon to assist us, including Lieutenant Rose. Trip, you’ll be in command of the sweep teams, not her, so don’t let her pressure you into moving any faster or slower then you need to make sure it’s done right.”

“Yessir!”

He looked to his earth pony sergeant. “Unfortunately, you, Sling, and Shot will be on guard duty until the princess is safe inside the embassy. That may take a while.”

“Understood, sir.”

Shining nodded. “Then get to it. ”

The squad saluted and split into their assigned groups, moving with purpose for the first time in over a week. Shining watched them go with pride. As ad-hoc as his unit had been, there wasn't a shred of doubt in him that they were more than capable of the task at hoof.

With luck, we’ll be sleeping easy on dry land tonight.

Author's Note

So, a week behind my predicted schedule :fluttershyouch: apologies for the delay. I’ll post a blog with an update later today. Feedback is appreciated!