Private Sword Glitter was walking through the courtyard of the military compound, nearing her company's barracks. She was assigned for night patrol for the next few days, and due to the time of year, it was already very dark outside, despite being only half past six.
Sword didn't even open the door to the barracks, she could already hear hollering, and wild laughter from inside. It seemed the guys were having a good time, instead of getting ready for the shift. The young guardsmare stepped inside, and her mouth turned to a smile, despite not even hearing what her company was so gung-ho about. But clearly, they were excited about something.
Inside the barracks, she could see at least twenty of her fellow troopers assembled roughly around where her bunk was. She began walking there, but in that moment, another wave of laughter spread across the building. Getting closer, she could see the guards standing around someone, who was making a speech, or more likely, was cracking jokes at them.
"Okay guys, okay, now who is this? "Troopers... This sort of indiscipline, is simply, disgusting! If you were MY company, this sort of behaviour would be weeded out, once and for all! But I can assure you, that my platoon won't act like this!""
The all-unicorn Delta Company let out another howling guffaw, collectively.
Of course, the pony who played stand-up comedian (again), was Private Lancer, Sword's squad- and bunkmate, resident funny guy.
"That's too easy, it's..." began a guard from the crowd, and lowered his voice "...Sergeant Bastard. Come on Lancer, throw us a challenge already!"
Sword Glitter joined the crowd, and let out a chuckle herself. She had to admit, the imponification was spot-on. Although it was easy to mock and sneer at "Sergeant Bastard". The infamous Staff Sergeant, officially known as Triple Spear was the generally disliked, and often hated commander of third platoon, the same Sword and Lancer were a part of.
When the hollering and guffawing died down somewhat, Lancer resumed his act, changing the pitch of his voice again.
"And who is this? "Delta Company, I'm proud of you today. You are the best Second Battalion can offer, and you have truly honored the Royal Guard with your service.""
The reaction from the soldiers were much less explosive this time around. A few of them scratched their heads, and changed suggestions between themselves who the target of the mockery could be. Sword knew who it was, but she didn't want to cut the game short, despite that they still needed to change into armor.
After a little time, one of the troopers put up a hoof, and said:
"That can only be Princess Celestia."
"What...?" Lancer raised an eyebrow. The company, on the other hoof, burst out laughing.
"Why?" the trooper continued "She speaks exactly like that."
"Since when did Princess Celestia have a deep voice like that?" asked another soldier, followed by chuckles from others. The mood was indeed in high gear this evening.
"She has a pretty deep voice for a mare..." continued the trooper with the wrong guess, but the rest of his sentence was drowned out by explosive laughter.
Sword giggled, and at the same time, felt a little bad for Private Bridle. He wasn't known for being the sharpest tool in the shed. Well, in the barracks...
"Okay, that was supposed to be Lieutenant Ironclad." Lancer revealed finally "I'm disappointed, guys, I didn't even get to the hard ones yet."
"We knew who it was, Lancer, it just wasn't funny. And you're a flankhole for mocking him. Ironclad's a cool guy." a soldier threw at him, sounding a bit offended.
"I know, but comedy only truly works if we set aside our limits, whether if the target of mockery is a cool guy or not." Lancer answered, sounding dignified, and a bit haughty.
"He's right! You shut up Blazetail, you wouldn't recognize humor even if it hit you over the head!" a pony from first platoon yelled.
"Do you want me to hit you over the head?" threatened Blazetail, but several others dismissed him.
"Okay, okay, pussyfight's over, let's hear Lancer instead, we don't have much time left!"
Lancer took a gander at the crowd, then began, raising his voice up real high:
"I am convinced that style and being a Royal Guard aren't mutually exclusive! Did I tell you about the mane conditioner I use? Oh, I will tell you all abou... Hey, look at that storefront!"
The crowd's feedback was rather conservative. A few chuckles here and there. Sword was smirking, as she knew who that was supposed to be. After all, there were only two mares in the whole company...
Several members of the crowd were whispering among each other, and no reaction came regarding the target of the imponification. After a little while though, one stallion spoke up:
"Well, I do wonder who that could be..."
"High pitched voice, is pretty girly... Hmmm..." said another stallion, putting a hoof to his chin, while also winking at another. That one spoke up:
"Oh, oh, I know that one then: It's Private Lancer!"
"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!"
The entire barracks burst out laughing as a single pony, much louder than anytime before. Sword herself laughed too. She knew it was supposed to be her, but it seemed the best comedy could only happen at the expense of the comedian himself.
Lancer looked left and right, his mouth slightly agape at the sudden change of roles.
"Screw you guys, that's not funny!" he said, but he himself was smirking a bit.
Of course, Delta Company thought otherwise, and continued having a blast at the roasted private. When the cheerful cacophony subsided a bit, Lancer spoke again:
"Okay, show is over lads, disperse!"
"Sorry Lancer, but that couldn't be missed out." said the purple-maned pony, who cracked the joke "But you understand, don't you?"
Before the company's resident comedian could answer, a large grey pony, a certain Sergeant Bellowhorn interjected:
"That was indeed enough guys. Let's hustle up, and get to the armory. Especially you, Third Platoon. You don't want a piece of Triple Spear, do you?"
The sergeant's words were effective, and Delta company made its way towards the door. And finally, Sword could also reach her bunk, and put down her heavy saddlebags. Lancer sat down on his own bed, and greeted his bunk mate.
"Hey Sword! So how was I? Pretty impressive show, right? Too bad you weren't here for the full thing!"
"Hello Lancer. Yeah, that Private Lancer was pretty spot on, not gonna lie!" answered Sword with a snicker, while hastily putting on her casual uniform.
"Tell me I didn't do you perfectly. You were only supposed to be an intermission before my great finale though. Too bad these bums had me like that."
"You still entertained them." said Sword, ready to move out "Wasn't that your intention?"
The two privates left their bunk, and walked towards the door, which was left open for them. Lancer continued:
"They were supposed to laugh at my act, not at me!" he sighed "Besides, we're under strength today, if you didn't notice. Storm has fallen ill, and Razor Sight is in the hospital. He wants to be there when his first kid is born."
Sword and Lancer left the barracks, and turned towards the armory. Once outside, Sword answered:
"Yeah, we did seem to be a bit too few. Well, say goodbye to pairs along all routes, I guess. And say hello to Triple Spear being mad."
"I'm sure he already knows, and he is always mad about something, so that's like saying the sky is blue. Or that night shift is a borefest. So, I wouldn't worry too much, we'll be okay."
Third platoon was standing in front of their sergeant, waiting for the briefing to begin. It was only two minutes until 7 PM, and Private Lancer still wasn't there. Which wasn't a surprise to anypony, as he was the guard who never hurried to anywhere, and was always just barely on time. Finally, he appeared too, and took position next to Sword, as usual.
"Aaand, Private Lancer is here too. Lovely. Let's begin then." said Sergeant Triple Spear, and put away the obligatory pocket watch.
"Third Platoon, atten-tion!....... Rest. So... We have two off-duty today, just lovely. One is just a lazy bum, the other thinks he knows what he's getting into...heh. Okay, you motley crew, nighttime patrol. Since we aren't at full strength, two of you will have to undertake this shift alone. I don't wanna hear from anyone that we should have some other platoon filling us in. No! My Third Platoon can make it work, no matter what..."
"And there he goes blabbering about "his" Third Platoon again..." Sword said under her breath, along with a soft sigh. As she blew out the air through her mouth, she could already see the chilly evening will turn into a really cold night.
Light gleamed from the coldflame lamps on the sarge's armor as he walked around the platoon, still giving his "pep talk" to them. When he was certain everypony was uncomfortable enough, and on the edge, he stopped, and began to assign out the patrol routes.
"Alright, so the patrol routes today... Private Lancer, are you paying attention?!"
Lancer, although a widely known troublemaker, was indeed just looking away for a moment, but that was enough for the high-and-mighty Sergeant to interject.
"Why, yes Sir, I'm drinking your words, Sir!" Lancer answered, adding his own flair to the standard format.
"What was that?!"
"Sir, I'm paying attention, Sir!"
"Private Lancer, I eagerly await the day I can boot your sorry flank from my unit. You do know that, right?"
"Sir, I'm sad to hear that, Sir!"
"I'm sure we all are... Aren't we, Private Glitter?"
Sword could barely stand to don't smirk at Lancer's antics, but for the better, she could maintain professionalism. She answered loud and clear:
"Sir, I think everypony is a valuable member of the platoon, Sir!"
"Oh, really? What do you think about this, Corporal Fireglade?"
"Sir, I have no opinion, Sir!" he answered, looking straight forward. The corporal really wanted to make it to sergeant, and therefor, he avoided any confrontation with the Staff Sergeant, no matter how hard that was sometimes.
Triple Spear was satisfied with the answer, and smiled at the platoon, then focused on Lancer.
"Private Lancer, you will patrol alone tonight. Your route will be Western Platform 1 - Horseshoe Boulevard."
"Wow, cool..." Lancer whispered, in a way only Sword could hear it. And he might as well meant that literally, as the winds blew through the platforms of Canterlot freely, and with the cold expected tonight, his was going to be one chilly patrol route. And the Sarge knew Lancer hated winter, and cold in general.
SSg. Spear continued the list of routes, assigning pairs to the rest of them. Until only one route remained, or more like, an area. One that no one really wanted to patrol, ever.
"Mountainside District North goes to... Private Glitter and..."
The sarge looked around, but realized everypony else already had their patrol routes, including himself. Biting his lower lip ever so slightly, he continued:
"...and herself. Private Glitter, you will patrol alone tonight."
Sword was a bit surprised at the decision, although she wasn't intimidated by it. She knew this probably wasn't assigned to her out of malice, but out of necessity. Even if in every other platoon, an effort was made to never send a single guard to patrol the Mountainside District. Probably because of the high concentration of creature minority there, but as far as Sword knew, the crime rate there was plummeting in the last few years. All thanks to the diligent work of the Guard.
Sword saluted, confirming she understood the decision. All the others though, looked at each other in confusion. As if everypony waited for the other to speak up. They also looked at Sword, possibly expecting her to raise an objection. But that wasn't going to happen. Sword wasn't the token mare of the platoon, she was a fully capable Royal Guard. If she was assigned a solo patrol route, she was gonna patrol it alone.
Eventually, the others looked at Corporal Fireglade, the only other pony in the platoon with some discernible authority aside from the sergeant. At first he hesitated, but then he gulped, and raised a hoof.
"Sergeant Spear, can I have a word?"
"Yes Corporal? Perhaps, you have some objections?" Triple Spear raised an eyebrow.
Fireglade gulped again, and started speaking without much confidence.
"It's just that Sir, that usually nopony is sent to patrol any part of Mountainside District alone. Especially not a mare. Maybe, assign somepony next to Private Glitter... Sir."
Triple Spear walked up to the Corporal, slowly, right unto his face.
"Are you questioning my decision regarding this, Corporal Fireglade?"
Fireglade glanced at the line of ponies next to him, and made eye contact with Sword. Perhaps he wanted some confirmation before signing himself up to Sergeant Bastard's shit list, but Sword shook her head, with confidence in her eyes.
"I guess... No, I am not, Sir." the Corporal answered.
A silent, disciplined upheaval was the reaction to the Corporal's answer. But Lancer spoke out loud, stepping forward:
"Now with all do respect Sir, but I think...
But before Lancer could finish his sentence, Sword interrupted him, speaking up even louder.
"He just thinks that I am fully capable of undertaking this task on my own! Which I am! That's all to it."
"Private Glitter, Lancer, you're both speaking out of line!" Triple Spear turned to them "Or perhaps Private Lancer wants to volunteer to patrol the Crystal Caves next time?"
Sword tugged on Lancer's tail with magic, pulling him back next to herself. And decided to answer instead of her squadmate, before he could get himself into anymore trouble.
"No Sir, he wouldn't want that, Sir. And we're sorry we spoke out of line, Sir!"
"Stand down, Private Glitter. I asked a question from Private Lancer, and therefore, except an answer from him. So, Private Lancer, would you want to patrol the Crystal Caves one of these days?!"
"Sir, I wouldn't want that, Sir." answered Lancer, spitting out the second "sir" between his teeth. The intonation of that could be hardly mistaken, but the Sarge answered with his trademark sadistic smile.
"Very good, Private Lancer. I'll make sure to make the proper arrangements then... Platoon, you are dismissed! Private Slingshot, you too, I will catch up to you in ten."
The platoon dispersed in seconds, and they left the castle grounds, where the guard barracks were located. Soon, every trooper was walking towards their assigned patrol routes.
"Nuts, I can't believe him! That spineless bastard!" Lancer seethed as he and Sword were walking down Sol street, towards the city center.
"I don't really get why you are so angry. The Sarge always behaves like this. You yourself said just a bit earlier." Sword answered, while trying to walk around the puddles of snowy muck on the pavement.
"Not him..." Lancer said "I'm speaking about Fireglade now. He just backed out from standing up for you. I actually thought so far he was a corporal for a reason. How such a scaredy good-for-nothin' even became a royal guard in the first place?"
"Weeell..." Sword rolled her eyes, and peeked back at Lancer "Firstly, when the Sarge and Fireglade faced off, he looked at me, and I gestured to him he shouldn't go along with the confrontation. Secondly, you aren't a prime example of a brave, and always faithful royal guard either, Lancey."
"Okay, okay, point taken." answered Lancer, while trying to pick up the pace. Sword was always hurrying, unlike him. "But when did I last leave you in trouble, tell me?"
"Oh, never!..." Sword answered flamboyantly, while fluttering her long lashes at her comrade.
Lancer smirked. For a moment, he lost himself in his squadmate's eyes. He liked Sword, and not just because she was a good comrade. He liked the toned body, the nice aquamarine coat, the always perfectly groomed turquoise mane. And of course, her tail, which was always left long, despite the guard code recommendations.
"See? That's what I'm talkin' about!" answered Lancer, after the momentary distraction he caused for himself.
"...Because I never got into trouble!" finished her thought Sword. "Seriously though, it's flattering that you guys care about me and all, but I'll be alright, so don't worry."
"Look, I know you're capable." continued Lancer, taking on a much more serious tone "But every guard worth his salt knows the Mountainside District is trouble! All them griffons, mare! I don't want to generalize, or anything, but they think it's their own little corner of Equestria. And they are willing to emphasize that, in the most brutal manners, I'm telling you! And to don't even speak about the new kinds of creatures seen there nowadays. There must be something going on in the south, cause I don't see any other reason why those weirdos would move here."
Sword looked at her buddy, without being impressed.
"Look, I know there are a few bad apples among the griffons, but there wasn't a single crime reported from that district in months. And before then, only petty theft, and such. And about the creatures, well, there were always a tiny amount of immigration to Equestria, so I dunno why are you so hung up on this."
"I'm glad you know the numbers Swordie, but betcha many crimes aren't reported from Mountainside. So just, you know, watch yourself when you get there."
Sword shrugged.
"I'm not concerned. After all, the fate of Equestria does not rest on me, and anything besides that can be handled by a skilled royal guard!"
Sword finished her sentence with a wink, but Lancer could only roll his eyes. Of course, that guard would be Sword Glitter, huh? If anything, Pvt. Glitter had some ego, that sometimes shone through her otherwise very agreeable personality.
For the rest of their common route, Sword and Lancer didn't talk much to each other. Not being in the mood for his usual antics due to the cold, Lancer kept mostly to himself, while Sword was actually preoccupied scanning the streets for anything suspicious. Of course, in the Governor District they were crossing, not much of that was counted upon. They crossed ways with other patrols too, which wasn't surprising in the heart of Canterlot. Overall, night shifts usually just ended up being peaceful strolls for most guardsponies.
Arriving at a large intersection, both Privates stopped, and Lancer spoke up, slightly shivering:
"I think this is where we part ways. Was nice having you, Swordie."
"Yeah, I bet! Hey, are you cold?" Sword asked, leaning in a bit closer.
"Gee, what made you think that? My teeth chattering, or my body shivering? And I don't even dare to imagine the weather on the Platform. Ah, stupid new patrol route..." Lancer answered, and drooped his ears. Indeed, his new route wasn't his usual. It was an exclusive "gift" from their platoon sergeant.
"Sorry Lancer, I was just joshing you a bit. I didn't realize you were this cold... I mean, it's barely below the freezing point, so it's just fine for me..."
Lancer was squinting his eyes at Sword. He wasn't sure if she genuinely felt bad for him, or just continued her teasing.
"Okay, okay, point taken!" Sword waved a hoof, and reached out to her utility bag with magic, levitating out a red-and-white knitted scarf from it "So, how about this?"
Sword's horn glowed, and the comfy-looking accessory flew over to his squadmate, and wrapped around his neck, under the helmet. Lancer's mouth was left open a bit.
"I'll leave tying a knot to you." Sword said, letting go of her magic.
"Whoah... You're giving this to me?" Lancer said, holding up the end of the scarf with a hoof.
"No way! My mom made it for me for Hearth's Warming. So I wanna see it back in the morning. But since I never wore it, you might as well have the honors."
"Gee, thanks Sword! You're really too nice to me!" answered Lancer, forming a hoop around his neck from the scarf.
"You're welcome! If you're indeed such a chilly pony, I wouldn't stand for you catching a cold, or something. But Imma go now. It's a long way to the Mountainside District from here." said Sword, and began heading to the right from the intersection.
"Okay, bye then! Have a peaceful patrol! And don't forget: be careful around griffons!"
"Bah! I told you it'll be okay! So don't worry. Have a peaceful patrol as well!"
The two guards finally separated, and Sword picked up the pace. But she had a growing suspicion, and after a few dozen yards, she glanced back. It indeed was as she suspected...
"Lancer?" she said just as loud so he would hear "Quit staring at my ass!"
"What? Me? I would never! Buh-bye!" Lancer shouted back, and he actually started to walk towards his own designated route.
Sword chuckled, and rolled her eyes. Lancer wasn't the first pony she caught eyeing her backside, and not the first time either. And he won't be the last, for sure. Armor or not, she knew it was a sight to behold. And she knew it was a fact, not mere egotism, or anything.
After crossing the Central and Industrial districts, Pvt. Glitter finally arrived at the Mountainside District, dreaded by many guards. The place was named as such, because as one would guess, it was located right next to the side of Canterlot Mountain. But the districts of Canterlot all had such imaginative names, like the district with the Royal Castle being called the Castle District.
Although Sword knew the place relatively well, she never had to patrol it, and admittedly, she's never been there at night. As she entered the district proper, she realized just how narrow the streets and alleyways there were. In some parts, the adjacent buildings were so close to each other, that a regulation spear couldn't be fit between them. And being evening, it was almost pitch black everywhere, as the simple firefly lamps were placed very far apart from each other.
Also, unlike the rest of Canterlot, the black cobblestone pavement didn't do the place any favors, bringing it down to the same level as the worse parts of Manehattan. Overall, it was a really a unflattering part of the city, and Sword admitted to herself that maybe it was even a bit creepy at this time of day. But that only was because how her metallic clip-clops reverberated throughout the streets, making it even more apparent she was all alone.
Yeah, griffons and other creatures. As if, Lancer...
Sword actually wished she would meet someone, anyone, because she started to feel like she was in a dead city, with her being the only civilization around. And that happened, about half an hour into her patrol.
A strange, mole-like, bipedal creature hurried towards her, wearing a little bowler hat, and a bag, or more like a suitcase, was being tucked under his right arm. As he got closer, Sword loudly greeted him:
"Good evening, citizen! Where's the hurry?"
The creature stopped in front of Sword, and seemingly afraid, he tipped his hat to Sword with a shaking hand.
"He-hello..."
Sword nodded back, and asked:
"So, where are you going?"
The creature looked left and right, but only with his eyes, as if searching for an escape route. Still stammering, he answered:
"J-just home..."
"Okay, carry on then! Have a good night!"
The mole-creature tipped his hat again, and hurried away without saying anything. Sword looked after him, and felt a little bad about the situation. It was a guard protocol to make routine checks, but maybe she picked the wrong creature for that. This one seemed like the type who fears authority, and not because he is up to no good, but because of his ingrained reflexes, probably carried over from his homeland. Guards probably aren't the just and helpful folks everywhere, unlike in Equestria. Sword contemplated that fact for a moment. She was proud she was a pony of Equestria, and also a Royal Guard.
Sword continued her patrol, and in the next few hours of it, nothing interesting happened. She zigzagged through the streets and alleyways of the district, not meeting many ponies or creatures. She checked on those who she met though, and one pony even complimented her on her nice manners. It couldn't be helped, Sword simply had a way with words, and for a royal guard, she came off more as the friendly gal from next door, rather than a figure of authority.
It could be around midnight when Pvt. Glitter entered another one of the samey alleyways that she saw so many of already. Except this one had even less illumination than the others. Rectifying the issue, Sword cast a simple lighting spell, so she could at least see where she was stepping. These alleyways often had strange puddles lying around, after all...
Walking forward, Sword quickly found out the reason for the darkness. One of the firefly lamps was out of order. Upon closer inspection though, she realized that actually, the glass pane on one side was open. The glowing insects must have been let go deliberately...
Sword raised an eyebrow. This was a somewhat strange find. Like, why would one disable a lamp, when the lighting is already so scarce in this area? Suspicious, Sword picked up the pace a bit, to check out the next lamp in the alley, and lo and behold, that was in the exact same state. Not letting go of her spell, she walked forward casting her own pinkish-purple cone of light.
Sword walked past the next lamppost, lacking the fireflies also. Then a bend was coming up in the alley, and she started to hear muffled conversation. Clearing the bend in the alley, she could see a small group of creatures, apparently griffons, assembled around a cart. Now she could also make out some sentence fragments, which clearly came from them.
"Gimme the next one, quickly now..."
"Careful with that..."
"Shit, someone's coming, put that away..."
Sword didn't have the slightest idea what could a small group of griffons do in the pitch black street at midnight, but one of them had a small lantern, providing some very dim light. Maybe this was some griffon cultural thing, but nevertheless, the guardsmare was aiming to find out what their reason was for hanging out at this hour. After all, it was a bit strange.
Pvt. Glitter approached the griffons, with her lighting spell still on. Now she could see there were four of them altogether, three male ones, and one female one, on top of the cart. It was probably for the flat crates piled upon each other nearby. Their origin should've been the small house - apparently a warehouse - they all stood before. As she cast light on the feathered creatures, they covered their eyes with their claws. Seeing the issue, Sword reduced the intensity of her spell, and also, the griffon holding the lantern put it on the cart, so now they could see each other properly.
"Greetings, Sirs and Madam!" Sword began, in a friendly tone "Is everything alright? I noticed the lights were out a bit further back on the street, I hope it didn't cause any inconvenience for you."
The griffons froze when Sword started to talk to them, but realizing what they were dealing with, they became more at ease. Except for the female griffon on the cart, who was still giving the guardsmare a nasty look. One of them, a big brown griffon, stepped forward, and began to talk.
"Why hello there! Um, Miss...Guard. No, we didn't notice the lights were out, but we're all fine here, thank you, he-he!"
The griffon seemed really uncomfortable, and although his voice was chipper, his smile was forced. Sword furrowed her brows ever so slightly. She felt something was kept from her, something was going on here. But she continued with her next question, smiling again.
"Good to hear that! Then can I maybe ask what are you doing here at this late hour?"
"We? Uh... Nothing serious really. Just... Moving out my store to a different location! Yup." answered the griffon.
Sword glanced at the "store". It wasn't one, but for now, she decided to play along.
"I see. What store is this? What do you sell?"
"Oh, nothing serious. Just trinkets, odds and ends, that sort of thing. You know, it's a pawn shop kinda thing."
"Okay. And I guess those crates contain the wares you sell. Can I maybe take a look into one of them?"
The big griffon looked back at the crates nervously, and the two other griffons. One of them, with blue-ish plumage, stepped to the crates, and put a claw on them. The other, a grey one shuffled around nervously, grinning at Sword. It was actually a pretty goofy sight.
"Big brown" looked back at Sword, and gestured with a claw back and forth, as if counting something. The guardsmare, at this point, stepped back a little, just in case. Just outside the range of a potential claw swipe...
"Now you see, I can't show you, because... That stuff is really fragile, and we packed it so carefully, and we don't have anymore packing materials, so we really shouldn't open 'em up, heheh, yeah."
The blue griffon from the back added:
"Yeah, they're paw-painted vases and plates from Pandaria. VERY fragile stuff, so if you don't mind, noble guard, we'd spare unpacking them."
"Totally understandable!" Sword nodded "Then I'll only need to see your business license, and I'll be out of your way!"
The griffon looked at her flabbergasted. Sword feigned obliviousness, and even cocked her head a bit, with a cute smile. She knew she had him.
"That?... Um, I left that at home, yeah. And I can't bring it over, because we're really in a hurry! Yup, that's right!... HEY, WE'RE ALL REALLY IN A HURRY, I SAID!"
Taking the "subtle" hint, the two other male griffons started to load up the crates to the cart. The female one took each of them over, and put them under a sheet. Sword sidestepped to see better what's going on, but Brown One blocked out the view.
"How sad..." Sword said "Then Iet me ask for your name and address, so a guard can come over tomorrow, and check those out for you."
The griffon put up one claw, as someone who's going to say something very important.
"Ohhh... You see... Ah fine, you had me, noble guard! This is not my store, it belongs to my brother! I'm just helping him out, because he is really busy nowadays. I can give you his address, and you can talk out the legal stuff with him."
Glitter squinted her eyes, and took on a more serious tone.
"Oh, I bet it's not your store. Because this isn't a store in the first place. This is a warehouse. So what's going on here, really?"
Surprised at the objection, the cart loaders suddenly stopped, and without the support from below, the female griff lost the grip on one of the crates. It crashed to the ground, and spilled its contents.
The brown griffon looked back. Sword looked there too.
They weren't plates at all. Or vases. They were crystals. Large, opaque, light blue crystals.
The two male griffs in the back hastily started to pick them up, while the brown one stepped towards Sword, adamant about explaining the situation.
"Whoa, look at that, it seems my bro duped me, these aren't vases, heh, I guess he will really..."
"I want to see the shipping manifest, NOW." said Sword sternly, but also stepping back "Or I'll have to assume you're engaging in illicit trade of arcane materials!"
Sword didn't exactly recognize the crystals, but she knew these are the kinds mages use in staves, and all kinds of arcane equipment. And surely, these griffons weren't mages. And the existence of a shipping manifest was doubtful as well.
"Okay, look, I have some bits on me. Let's smooth this out alright? You didn't see anything. We'll just load these crystals up, and..."
"Georg, get out of the way!" a female voice interrupted from behind.
Sword wanted to interrupt now herself, but "Georg" turned back to the cart, and yelled at her female companion.
"Dammit Griz, I told you I will smooth out any interru...
"Finally!" said the female griffon, and aimed a small crossbow right between Sword's eyes.
Sword rolled to the side in a moment's notice, and the bolt wheezed past her ear.
"DAMMIT!" Griz said, and began to reload her weapon.
Sword sprung to her hooves, and pulled out her spear, as well her "Royal Guard voice".
"DROP YOUR WEAPON NOW!!!" Sword shouted, with her spear ready at her side in a magical grip.
Griz didn't comply, instead took cover behind the cart. The brown griffon, Georg, leaped up to the cart, and dropped down weapons to the rest. He himself grabbed a large glaive, and launched himself at Pvt. Glitter.
"Stand down!!!" Sword yelled, but only because of protocols. She knew none of them will stand down, and she will have to fight her way out of this.
Georg striked at Sword, but she blocked the savage lunge with her spear. Then another one, then she took the initiative, and attacked herself. Those years of fencing definitely paid off.
The griffon, surprised, made a long jump backwards assisted by his wings. Sword took on the offense, with the business end of her weapon pointed forward, at a slight angle. She poked at the griffon, who retreated back to the cart, only to be backed up by the others.
Griz aimed her crossbow at Sword. In a heartbeat, she charged up her magic, and shoot a magic bolt in the general direction. Griz pulled back to cover with a "WHOA!"
Georg also took cover behind the cart. He yelled:
"Damn, the little shit knows magic! Gunnar, she's all yours!"
Now the blue griffon appeared from behind the cart, holding what looked like a magic staff. The runes on the haft were already glowing, as well as the crystal at the tip.
"Uh-oh..." Sword muttered, knowing the situation just turned from bad to worse.
The next moment, the tip of the staff began spewing a steady stream of flames at Sword Glitter. Not knowing any protective spells, she dodged the flames, barely, then bolted, running towards the direction she came from. She definitely needed to get reinforcements. Something big was going down there, and she stepped right in the middle of it.
Sword ran as fast as she could, hearing that the griffon staff user was right behind her. She arrived at a small intersection, and took cover behind some barrels. Just in time, as Gunnar cast flames on her from the staff. Sword kept low, but the tip of her tail got singed somewhat, as it was out of cover.
After the attack stopped, Sword left the cover, and went for the alleyway on her left. This one ran parallel to the previous one, and would lead to the main street, from where she could make it to the Southern half of the district, meeting more guards.
Of course, the rest of the griffons were unaccounted for, and as Sword ran at full speed to put a distance between herself, and what she could only identify as a hedge wizard, Griz landed in front of her. Sword let out a swear within, that how large of a tactical advantage flying creatures had against earth-bound ones.
The female griffon aimed her one-handed crossbow at Sword, but with the distance being short enough, Sword easily grabbed the weapon with her magic, and yanked it to the side. The bolt fired, but only struck a wall. Glitter took the initiative, and tried to disarm the griffon, with her spear pointed at her:
"In the name of the crown, surrender! This is your last chance!"
Griz didn't comply though, and with her right hand still embedded within the guardsmare's telekinesis, she grabbed the spear with her left, and tried push it aside. She sadistically grinned at Sword:
"You will get roasted little pony, hehe!"
Sword looked behind herself, realizing Gunnar was almost in firing range. She didn't want to hurt anyone, and never had to so far during her career, but right then, she ran out of options. She shouted, without much hope of complacency:
"DROP YOUR WEAPON, OR I THRUST! FINAL CHANCE!"
"Oh, little guard, you're not nearly powerfu..."
The griffon's answer was interrupted by Sword easily overpowering her grip with her own magic, and struck Griz in the side. She roared up in pain, and fell to the cobblestone pavement.
Just in time, as Gunnar arrived right behind her. Sword could hear and feel the flames blazing by her backside, but this time, her tail got remained untouched. While running, Sword realized she should send up a flare spell. Then, every guard in the vicinity would come to investigate, as those are only used in an emergency. If only she had a few seconds of breather...
When she was nearing the end of the alley, Sword could only hear the jingle-jangle of her own armor, but not the claw- and pawsteps from behind herself. She looked back, and it seemed her pursuer has indeed buggered off.
The guard realized this was the breather she needed, and slowed down. She looked around a bit, then stopped. She aimed her horn at the sky, but hesitated for a moment before casting:
"Wait, what was the code for "hostiles"?"
In her panic, Sword couldn't recall it. The remaining griffons could get a drop on her at any moment... She didn't overthink it though, and fired three luminous spheres at the sky in quick succession. At the altitude of about a hundred yards, they each burst with a relatively quiet "POP!".
"I hope that does it. Come on dudes, save my flank!"
Sword continued towards the main street, but suddenly heard wings flapping. She had a fleeting, unrealistic hope for pegasi guards already arriving, but of course, she had no such luck. The grey griffon, who she didn't fight so far, glided down into her alley, but didn't land yet. He grabbed onto an open window shutter, and prepped himself against the house's wall. She had a cutlass in his other hand, and talked down to Sword:
"Look at the little guard pony, all alone... You will pay for Grizelda, you scum!"
With the sudden tone change, he backflipped down to the pavement, some distance in front of Sword. She backpedaled, readying her spear.
"Reinforcements will be here soon, you know." Sword said, while tensing herself either for a dodge, or a strike "It would be better if you just surrendered to me now. You'd have better chances in court."
"Oh yes, I saw your little fireworks. Well, the only thing your friends will find here will be your dead body!"
The griffon leapt for an attack, but Sword was on the nose, and fired a combat spell without much charge-up. It struck him right in the chest, where the plumage was the thickest. The griffon dropped to the ground, heaving and grunting, and grasping where Sword hit him.
Knowing he was far from dead, Sword trotted over to her injured adversary. She levitated up his cutlass, and stepped on it, breaking it in half. She checked the griffon for any other hidden weapons, but found none.
The griffon turned to his side, facing Sword. Now that his claws were out of the way, she could see the damage she caused. The feathers were mostly burned away in the spot she struck him, but the skin underneath had only superficial damage. To the guardsmare, it was not much of a surprise, as she knew that feathers offered great natural protection against magical damage.
"Stand down, or I WILL kill you!" Sword said angrily, with her horn lighting up. Of course, she was bluffing.
"As if you could do that, dumb mare!" said the griffon, still wheezing "You guards can't kill at will. Pathetic pony!"
The griffon laughed at Sword, but his cackles turned into coughing. That magical burn must have affected his lungs somewhat. Being resolute, Sword Glitter lifted a foreleg, and slapped the griffon in the face with her armored hoof. He passed out cold.
"You know, you're right. We can't kill. But unlike you, we wouldn't want either."
Sword didn't strike down the griffon just out of spite. She knew there were still two more hunting for her, and she wanted to take out the grey one from the fight for good. By her estimates, it would take five more minutes for the reinforcements to arrive still.
Making it to the street she was aiming for, Sword was put at ease a bit. This street was better illuminated than the alleys previously, and there were no sight of any griffons. Or any creature whatsoever. She began to trot towards the south, being the way the reinforcements would come from. Maybe they would meet up along the way, ending the nightmare sooner.
She didn't meet anyone, but Georg, the glaive-wielding griffon. He seemingly waited for her on one of the rooftops, as he descended to the pavement seemingly out of nowhere. As he touched the ground, he called out to his yet invisible buddy:
"Hey Gunnar, I found her! Finish the job already!"
Sword looked around in panic. She remembered that's how the wizard is called. And she didn't want to encounter him or his staff again. But what she wanted even less, was fighting two hostiles at the same time. But only "Georg" was before her at that moment, so she tried to weigh her options...
But sadly, there didn't seem to be many.
"I'm warning you," Sword started "I have the knowledge of deadly combat spells. Don't make me use them against you. So you better just stand down while you can."
Sword didn't put much faith into her intimidation tactic working, but she had to try. For Guards, it was diplomacy first. Fighting was a last resort. And it seemed she would see more of that last resort very soon. Georg twirled his glaive in one hand, and stepped forward, letting out a soft cackle.
"Deadly spells, eh? Then come on, use them! I'm fairly sure I have encountered far worse than you in my time. Let's have at it!"
Georg began power walking towards his target. Sword's horn was already glowing. She let out one last warning:
"Two of your buddies are already down! This won't end well for you!"
As the reaction was her adversary getting closer, Sword let go of her spell, a fully charged-up magic bolt. But Georg was on the nose, and raised his glaive with wondrous speed, and the spell struck the blade, getting deflected.
Sword left her mouth agape for a moment. That was something else... This griffon wasn't a pushover. Must have indeed fought a few magic users in his past. Also, his weapon most probably possessed some anti-magic coating, being able to deflect a charged-up bolt like that.
Pvt. Glitter backpedaled, while firing a few more shots of magic at the advancing griffon. But his reflexes didn't betray him, and he twirled and spun the glaive in front of himself, precisely blocking the unicorn's magical attacks.
Feeling magic fatigue kicking in, Sword decided to fall back. Even more so, as the one named "Gunnar" have also arrived. Sword began galloping down the street, in hopes of losing her pursuers. She didn't have too much hope for that happening, as they took flight, and closed the distance between them quickly.
After a slight bent in the street, Pvt. Glitter saw a building still under construction, with wooden scaffolding erected in front of it. The interior reminded Sword of some maze, and she decided to perform a "static tactical reorientation", that is, to hide. She took into the skeletal structure, and holed up in one of its rooms.
The griffons arrived just seconds later, and stopped outside the building. That didn't bode well for her plan of just waiting them out until reinforcements would arrive...
"I think I heard her going inside." said Georg.
"This building?... This is just perfect. Then you circle around, while I do this..." came from Gunnar, the fire staff wielding one.
Sword overheard the conversation, and decided to sneak one storey up. She was pretty used to her own noisy way of locomotion, but to one who didn't wear armor, her clankering was a dead giveaway. She didn't think of that when she thought of hiding.
Suddenly, her ears swiveled towards outside. A strangely familiar, deep whooshing sound struck them. And arriving on the first floor, she realized its origin: the griffon wizard begun to burn down the whole building! The dry wooden supporting beams and scaffolding easily caught fire, and before Sword knew it, she found herself in quite the frying pan. She tried to navigate to the back of the building, but Georg suddenly appeared in front of her.
Once again, Sword cursed her adversaries' superior tactical versatility, and thought about an open fight, but Georg shouted out:
"Gunnar, she's here, first floor!"
Nope! Sword fired a few bolts at Georg, for good measure, then bolted for the next ramp. The only way was up by then, she wouldn't fight two enemies at once.
Sword galloped through each floor, and eventually arrived at the top, the fourth one. With no way further up, the guardsmare suddenly realized her own faulty tactic: she trapped herself up there. And soon enough, Georg arrived too, and Gunnar also flew in through the roofless top. At that point, smoke was very visibly climbing towards the sky, and some beams began to creak. Magical fires often burned with much more intensity than natural ones, that was a fact Sword knew too, and now was going to experience.
With facing both griffons, Sword peeked behind herself for some way out, but there was none. The back of the building didn't have a scaffolding erected, and the only one in the front both burning down, and blocked by the lovely feathered creatures, was out of question as well. Sword, with no other option left, grabbed a good hold of her spear, and prepared her heart for a last stand. If she was to go down, she would go down fighting.
"Well, end of the line, pony." Georg started with a smug smile "I won't say you didn't put up a good fight, heck, you were even a bit of a challenge. But it's time to end this. Even if you hold out, this building will soon collapse, and you will die! But we can fly away..."
Sword didn't answer, just slowly backed away. She wanted to keep both of her opponents in her line of sight, and as far as possible. She squinted her eyes, being aware of every little movement.
"Hehe... Aur dersen, poni." Gunnar said, aiming his staff right at Sword.
Knowing what will happen in the next moment, Sword quickly fired a magic bolt at him, but Georg swung his glaive, blocking out the shot. It served only as a momentary distraction, but that was enough for Sword to evaluate her surroundings, and think about her next move.
With all kinds of building materials lying around, the unicorn noticed a bag of cement. With a sudden idea, she launched it high into the air with her telekinesis. Not knowing what's up for a moment, Gunnar looked at the bag, but Georg leapt at Sword, determined to finish the job. But she pirouetted away from the strike, and in the next moment, the bag of cement crashed into the floor, blowing up into a big cloud of white powder. In anticipation, Sword held her breath back, but her adversaries coughed and sputtered. Using the distraction, Sword aimed at Gunnar's position, fired, and the screaming told her the spell struck true. The fight was down to a duel.
Pvt. Glitter didn't hesitate, and grabbed the fire staff from the downed wizard, and galloped one floor downstairs. Georg after her, of course. One floor down, she stopped, and aimed the staff at him. She didn't actually know how to trigger one, but hoped she could bluff her way out of this mess already.
"Stop, I have the sta..."
But the skilled griffon didn't wait for the sentence to end, and rushed at Sword. She gasped, and dropped the staff, pulling out her spear in a moment's notice. She skillfully blocked, then riposted, and drove the griffon back momentarily. Georg tried to use flight to his advantage, but in the relatively cramped interior of the building, that didn't do much good. Sword fought herself to a stalemate, and the griffon seeing he won't easily win, landed, and put some distance between them. He stopped, with his glaive raised horizontally.
"So you can indeed fight... But it matters none. I used to be the bodyguard of King Grover himself back in the days... You won't encounter a better duelist from here to Griffonia." Georg taunted, panting.
"And I was the youth fencing champion of Equestria in the unicorn's league. So what? Getting a bit tired?" Sword shot back, smirking.
"Nah... Just wanted you to know what you're dealing with before you go down. Have at you!"
Georg resumed the attack, but it was less intense than initially. Sword noticed this, and prepared to finish the duel. Her strikes were getting closer to the griffon's body, the tip of her spear often just barely missing its mark. After a badly calculated block, Sword's spear slid down from the glaive's blade, right into Georg's thigh. He cried out in pain, but regained his composure in a moment, switching to a float. But the wound dripped blood in a steady stream, and he got weaker by the second.
"Give up. I have you. Don't die like this, it's meaningless." Sword called out to his heaving enemy.
"NO! I won't go to your damned dungeons!"
The griffon thrust his polearm, but Sword easily sidestepped from the attack, and with her next move, she skewered his right wing. He fell to the ground, the unicorn jumped over, and kicked away the glaive. Gently stepping on the uninjured wing, Sword declared:
"It's over. I won. Will you give up now?"
Georg breathed heavily, with his eyes closed, head turned to the side. Sword studied his expression. It was contorted in pain, alongside some defiance. But the next moment, Georg cried out:
"NEVER!"
He madly swiped his claws across Glitter's face, but she turned her head just in time, so only the gilding on her helmet suffered some scratches. She had enough though, and the griffon's face met her horseshoe. He lost consciousness. Sword stepped back, and said, mostly just to herself:
"Dumb griffon... Why couldn't you just give up?"
Sword has put down the second injured griffon in front of the burning building. Just in time, as the flames started to consume the back portions of it as well, through which the guardpony made her escape less than a minute ago. She checked for life signs, and she could confirm both criminals were still breathing. For a moment, she thought about if they deserved getting saved from the flames, but Sword quickly dissipated these thoughts: no one deserves such fate. But they will definitely deserve their trials, then dungeon.
A short time later, Sword noticed four pegasus guards flying towards her on the street. She waved to them, and they landed, with spears drawn.
"Are you all right, trooper? Where are the hostiles? We came as fast as we could."
"I guess the hostiles have been dealt with." the unicorn said, alongside a weak smile. "They are badly injured, all griffons. We'll need a medic. Oh, and a team of firefighters."
The pegasus stallion looked up at the burning building, with its scaffolding slowly collapsing unto itself. She looked back at Sword, and asked:
"You seem to be all right, so... Would you mind telling me what's going on here? Did you take out these griffons?"
"I did. And I'm afraid I don't fully understand myself, yet. But send for a medic, then I'll show you what they wanted to kill me over..."
Sword Glitter lead the pegasus reinforcements back to the cart, where she was first attacked by the griffon gang. Along the way, the medic patched up the two other griffons who Sword dealt with. They were impressed with the job, although one of the guards remarked they should have been killed outright. Sword just dismissed that with a "Nah."
At the cart, Sword removed the cover from the topmost crate still on the ground. Now taking a better look, these were definitely magical crystals, of course she couldn't determine the kind exactly. The pegasi rallied around her, and looked with some wonder at the find. Sword tried to levitate out one crystal from the crate, but her magic got absorbed by it.
"Whoah!" she exclaimed, with eyes growing wide "Just what is this stuff?!"
"I dunno. But it's definitely contraband. We better notify HQ. This is probably something serious."
The pegasus corporal gestured, and gave orders to his subordinate, and also asked for more reinforcements ASAP. He wouldn't want an encounter unprepared himself, after hearing the story in a nutshell from Sword earlier.
Not even an hour have passed, and several Royal Guard platoons started to fill the streets. The area where the encounter happened has been locked down, and a curfew has been initiated until morning. Sword looked at the sudden happenings with some amusement. If all these guards only arrived when she needed them the most... But thinking a bit more about it, she also realized: what if the way things happened were for the best? What if somepony would have been killed in the brawl, were they to engage the gang as a platoon? Considering how adamant the griffons were to kill her, Sword was sure they wouldn't had second thoughts about fighting a whole platoon either.
Sword walked back to her "prize", the crystal cart which was now guarded by a whole squad of royal guards. The corporal who she met initially, spoke to her:
"I think we got this now, Private. You better find your CO, and report to him. Also, get some rest. This must have been a rough night to you."
Pvt. Glitter nodded, then answered:
"Thank you, Corporal. Although I'm still curious just what I found here. The griffons seemed rather adamant about leaving no witness."
"Griffons are scum. Not here in Canterlot luckily, but they killed ponies over less. And don't worry, I think you'll hear the gossip if anything more turns up about these crystals."
Sword saluted, then turned back and rolled her eyes. She wanted to react something along the lines of "generalizing is bad", but she was double minded about it herself at that point. After all, she herself was almost killed by griffons about an hour earlier.
As the private started to walk, she noticed a squad of unicorns, wearing armor with blue robes underneath, approaching. She stopped, curious of their intentions, although they definitely looked like battlemages, the most elite portion of the Royal Guard. They passed her, and stopped at the cart. Their leader started speaking.
"Master Sergeant Fireblade, Battlemage Corps. Thank you for doing the heavy lifting troopers, but from now on, this is battlemage business. Join your comrades securing the area. Don't worry though, we'll finish here shortly."
The pegasus corporal scrunched up his muzzle, but answered calmly nonetheless.
"Corporal Icy Spear, Alpha Company, 5th Guard Battalion. Understood Sergeant, we'll move out right away. Oh, and don't thank us..." Icy Spear smirked "Thank that one unicorn guard, Private Glitter."
The battlemage sergeant turned towards Sword, who stepped a bit closer, and saluted.
"You secured this contraband...alone?" Firespear gestured.
"Yes Master Sergeant. That's how it happened." Sword Glitter answered, with a wide smile. She was rather proud of herself. Especially considering the mild bewilderment on the stallion's face.
The members of the special unit looked at each other. The master sergeant himself nodded with approval.
"Very nice work then, Private Glitter."
"Then can I ask maybe, considering I had a hoof in stopping whatever this was, what are those crystals? When I tried picking up one of them, my magic simply..."
"No, you can not." the master sergeant interrupted harshly "As I said, this is battlemage business from now on. Thank you again for your diligent behaviour, but I'm afraid I cannot say anything more. You are all dismissed."
Sword recoiled a bit from the sudden and stern answer, but understood it, and complied. She saluted, and walked away, just as her fellow Royal Guards. When the corporal caught up to her, she couldn't stand not to say:
"Well, I guess those crystals ARE important then!"
"Yeah, it seems. But surely not as much as how self-important these battlemages are. Damn, such flankholes..."
Sword didn't answer. Maybe the corporal was right about them, but who knows how deep this whole thing goes? Maybe that battlemage had a good reason to hide the facts. Maybe... But Sword didn't think too hard about that right then. With her hardest patrol ever over, she could only think about some rest finally.
IN THE MORNING, BACK AT THE ROYAL GUARD COMPOUND...
"Dammit Sword! That was really something else! Nice to see you came out of this unscathed." said a stallion from Delta Company, after Sword finished her tale of the rather unfortunate night patrol.
"Yeah, I was lucky, heh!" Sword answered, and hid her yawn with a hoof.
"Damn, what I wouldn't give now to be there for Sergeant Bastard's once-over! After all this, Lieutenant Ironclad will surely rip him a new one!" said another trooper.
"Indeed, that would be funny..." Sword said between two long blinks.
"See Glitz, this is why I said to be careful around griffons!" Lancer chimed in finally "You are nice and considerate with them, then bang! They try to kill you!"
"Yeah, I guess you had a point. I will be more careful from now on..."
"Don't you worry Glitter, we won't let you go alone anywhere from now on!" exclaimed a deep voice from the crowd.
"Yeah, not even the little fillies' room!" added a much higher pitched one.
"I'm sure some of you would be into that... Okay guys, I told you everything there is about this. Can I sleep now? I still have to write a long-ass after action report, so I'll have to get up sooner than usual.
"She has a point, go to your bunks ponies, the lady needs her beauty sleep!" said Lancer, waving a forehoof "Disperse!"
Delta Company slowly dissipated, with some questions left unanswered to their dismay. But Sword was already very tired, even hours ago. She indeed needed her "beauty sleep".
"Gee, thanks Lancer! That was very considerate of you!" she said.
"Yeah, yeah! So, about that last griffon you fought in the burning building..."
And poor Sword Glitter almost rolled her eyeballs out of their sockets...
THE NEXT DAY, AT THE ROYAL PALACE...
Princess Celestia, after done with her morning routines, began walking to the southern wing of the castle, where she would have an informal meeting with San Fransiscolt city representatives. Along her way, her Honor Guards saluted her, and she answered the greetings with a nod, as usual.
Almost arriving at her destination, she saw one her top intelligence officers walking towards her, a certain Captain Scroll Writ. He stopped in front of the Princess, and saluted.
"Your highness. I have some news about yesterday night's events. Are you in a hurry?"
"I can spare a few minutes. Go ahead, Captain Writ."
The captain smirked, and levitated several sheets of paper over to Celestia.
"It's funnier if you see it for yourself. Skim this guard report."
"Don't tease me, my good Captain." Celestia said with some pep in her voice, and took over the pages.
Captain Writ didn't answer, just let Celestia read. The Princess' eyes moved rapidly, and a few minutes later, said:
"So, a single Royal Guard?! One Royal Guard shut down the Blood Glaive gang?!"
"I was surprised myself, but all the reports from the other guards line up with this. Seems like the gang popping up in Canterlot proved to be their undoing."
Celestia raised an eyebrow as she continued reading the report, then a smirk began to appear in the corner of her mouth. Eventually, she said:
"Impressive. Most impressive!"
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Your Highness?" asked Captain Writ.
Celestia gave back the papers to his captain, and answered.
"I am, Captain Writ. I think we have a new candidate..."
