Royal Bodyguard: Fire and Ice

Chapters

Chapter 1: Hearts and Hooves day
Chapter 2: Welcome back... Or not.
Chapter 3: Limbs
Chapter 4: Well That Escalated Quickly
Chapter 5: Short Time Off
Chapter 6: Turn of Events

Chapter 1: Hearts and Hooves day

The light blue unicorn walked through the Canterlot gardens, admiring the scenery. Too bad she was just passing through though.
As her hoof steps echoed off the beautifully tiled streets of Canterlot, she searched left and right for the correct address. It was Hearts and Hooves day, and all the seats at the cafes were taken by ponies, their special somepony across the table.
Hoping her date would be as good as he sounded on the phone, Halcyon Fleet straightened her deep blue mane, neatly tied into ponytail. She didn't usually have one, since her work restricted the amount of personal customization abilities.
She worked for the Secret Service, merging in with crowds and protecting the royals, even if they may not know it. She didn't know anypony else in the service other than her superiors- everything was all kept confidential. Her cover story was that she works as an assistant for a famous dress designer, but her cutie mark would give her away- that's why she wore a long silky dark blue dress to cover it, and she dearly hoped it wouldn't attract any attention. She had light blue diamond earrings to go with the dress- it was plain and simple, but elegant.
Her date, Blaze; whom was introduced to her by a friend, had already reserved a spot in the Canterlot restaurant. It was one of the locations where the Grand Galloping Gala was held, and namely one of the best restaurants in Equestria. Halcyon was surprised her date was so organized- not that she didn't trust her friends to get her a good stallion, just that it seemed... odd.
Two stallions in suits opened the huge oak wood and gold double doors, and Halcyon bowed politely as she entered.
The welcome hall was grand, the ceiling high above her head, golden sculptures lining the sides. The designers must've been instructed to make it all look expensive instead of good, because that's exactly what it looked like.
"Hello miss! How may I help you? And you do look stunning, I must say. All dressed up for Hearts and Hooves day?" the receptionist asked kindly.
"Indeed." Halcyon waved away the complement. She thought it best not to go into details, seeing as the receptionist didn't have a special somepony around her. "My date reserved a spot here- I believe his name to be Blaze?"
The receptionist took a while to search through the files. "Ah, yes; of course. Then you must be Miss Fleet?"
Halcyon nodded.
"This way, please."
The receptionist led Halcyon into the main hall, and she was instantly hit by the highly tempting aroma of the different high-class foods. God, she was hungry- although she didn't show it. She was used to stuff like that- you always had to act up in front of the princess.
Walking through the tables only made it worse, but she knew as soon as she ordered the food would be there- after all, to make it up to the top in Equestria must mean good food, environment, and obviously service too. Her date inviting her here, would either mean he had a lot of money, or that he cared enough to do so. Either way, it was a win-win. Now just to see how the stallion actually is.
An orange unicorn with a mane of various shades of red stood up, grinning at Halcyon as the receptionist led her to the table.
Halcyon made a quick analysis- she had to make one on any suspects while working anyway, so it was merely a natural instinct now. The stallion's hair had obviously been brushed multiple times, and was neat and tidy. The dark red suit he was wearing had an odd silky texture, seemingly top-notch. His bright red tie was tucked in neatly, and there didn't seem to be anything off.
Not bad, Halcyon thought. Not bad at all.
It seemed the stallion's attention to detail was pretty sharp, with his suit without a flaw and all.
Halcyon smiled politely, taking a seat, careful that her cutie mark doesn't accidentally show.
"You must be Halcyon." Blaze smiled warmly, also taking a seat as the receptionist walked away. "I've heard a lot about you from your friends."
"Oh?" Halcyon tilted her head slightly to one side.
"And I must say they were right- you do look stunning."
"Hmmm. Flattering- and I must say you don't look too bad yourself." Halcyon said, taking a sip of water. "But I do prefer it if we skip the formalities. Please, do be more relaxed, and speak in a... Normal, manner."
"Very well." Blaze gulped. Something about Halcyon gave him the chills... He couldn't quite place what, but he had a feeling it was her odd amount of authority. Not that he didn't fancy her- she was probably the prettiest pony he'd seen so far. He'll just have to wait it out and see what it's like. "So, Halcyon, what do you work as?"
Protect royalty. Tackle and arrest terrorists. "Well, I work for designer Rarity- she's on a trip to Ponyville, she lives there. She should be back soon, but in the meantime I look after her shop." Halcyon settled with that. "And you? Blaze, was it?"
"Yes." Blaze said, trying to feel more relaxed. He wasn't often so tense on his other dates. This one was something different. "And... I work as a bank accountant."
"Ha. That would explain the expensive suit." Halcyon gestured at the dark red suit.
"Ready to order, sir, miss?" a unicorn waitress asked, a pen and clipboard hovering in a pink aura in front of her.
"Why yes- of course." Halcyon said, flipping open a menu and dearly hoping that she didn't sound too eager.
"Do bring some red wine- I think we'll have the one from Canterlot gardens." Blaze said, and the waitress jotted down some notes.
"I'll have... The fried rice with a side of hay, carrots and cucumber." Halcyon said.
"And I'll have the vegetable noodles thanks." Blaze said to the waitress, then turned to Halcyon. "I come here often- and many times just for the noodles." he explained.
"Drinks? Other than wine?"
"Ooh... This Fire Mango sounds nice..." Halcyon eyed the orange and yellow photo of the drink.
"And Ice Blue, thanks." Blaze said, taking Halcyon's menu and handing both to the waitress. Halcyon nodded a thank you politely.
"So, Halcyon-" Blaze cast away the temporary distraction. "What more can you tell me about yourself?"
"Well... Nopony dared bully me at school." Halcyon chuckled. "I did have pretty good grades though. Let's see... I went to university, and worked at several tailor shops before finally settling at Rarity's a few years ago. My parents live in Neigh Zealand- it's a small island to the south-east. I'm eighteen... And that's just about it. So, Blaze... Tell me about you." she rested her chin lightly on a hoof.
"I... Was... Eh... A little rebellious, shall we say... During primary, but as time passed I noticed how foalish that was." he flushed a little. "I skipped university, but I was already at their level anyway." he grinned. "I'm twenty, and my parents live in Detrot City."
Halcyon smiled. Not looking bad so far- maybe not the rebellious part, but from what she was seeing so far she thinks they could settle for a month or two. Good enough a date for Hearts and Hooves day, compared to the other years. Maybe this time she can text her parents and not get them worried that she won't find a stallion- they were never afraid that her date might be mean. They knew none of her dates dared.
"Two years older than me, then. I do prefer my dates to be older- you know, so I look younger." she giggled quietly.
"Oh dear. So I look old then?" Blaze asked jokingly.
"No, of course not." Halcyon laughed sensibly.
The waitress was back, two drinks and two plates of food levitating around her. She gently placed them down on the table, and Blaze rubbed his hooves together. Halcyon was glad he was beginning to act more relaxed now, after a casual ice-breaker joke. It probably overdid it too- the ice melted away completely.
Being extremely hungry herself, she still ate her food sensibly and bit by bit, her horn glowing as she controlled the knife and fork.
The waitress popped open a wine bottle, pouring the contents into two light blue crystal glasses and gently setting them down on the table, barely making a sound. Both Halcyon and Blaze nodded politely as the waitress retreated elsewhere.
"Would you like to try some of the fried noodles?" Blaze asked, studying Halcyon cautiously.
"Oh, yes. I would love that please." Halcyon had a straight back, watching Blaze levitate a fork with noodles curled around it and gently place the food down on her plate. "Thank you." she said brightly. "And would you...?" she gestured at her fried rice.
"Ah, no thank you. Having been to this restaurant multiple times I have tried many of its popular cuisines." Blaze smiled. "But thanks for the offer anyway."
"No, no. Thank you, this date is really turning out better than any of my other ones." Halcyon smiled honestly.
"Doing my best." Blaze said.
All in all, it was a pleasant evening for both unicorns. The food was good, everything was good. Nothing particularly notable during the few hours, but Halcyon can truly say this for once- she really liked Blaze. She was still waiting to see how it would go though, testing for any similar feelings on Blaze.
"Well... That was... Fun." Halcyon said as the restaurant doors closed behind them, and they stood some-what awkwardly on the steps leading to the double doors. It was dark already, the moon light glowing brightly through the clear skies. The cold night breeze ran through Halcyon's mane, making it some-what less tidy. She didn't care anyway.
"Sure was." Blaze smiled, showing gleaming white teeth and waiting for an answer.
"Well, I couldn't wait to hang out again. You are definitely one of a kind, mister." Halcyon laughed.
Blaze grinned. "Me too."
"I'll call you then, some time." Halcyon said, trotting down the steps.
"Take care." Blaze waved.
"You too."

Halcyon didn't text Blaze straight away the next day- there was some event that wasn't an emergency but required her attendance at work. She had to leave straight away the next morning, heading to the castle.
Two spears crossed in front of her as the royal guards guarding the entrance told her to halt. She sighed. Nopony recognized Secret Service- that's good and bad at the same time.
She pulled out a summoning letter, and the royal guards lifted their spears, letting her in.
Folding the letter and tucking it into her shoulder bag, she proceeded through the castle gardens and into the main hall.
"Miss Fleet." her superior said, an old officer with a clean shave in full golden royal guard body armor.
"Sir." Halcyon stepped to a halt, her hoofstep echoing in the silence. She bowed out of respect. "The briefing was... A little too brief."
"Indeed. We gotta surprise for ya- and another Secret Service agent." the officer said, smiling. "Princess Celestia wants a word with you. The other agent left an hour ago. She said she'll meet you in the throne room."
"Thank you sir." Halcyon nodded again, and proceeded through the castle.
The name 'throne room' had an authoritative feel to it, but it really had a relaxing environment, with the fountain and all. None the less, one may still feel the authority the princess had, and it didn't dim by the slightest- it simply felt a lot less threatening.
Princess Celestia smiled as Halcyon approached.
"Miss Fleet." she said, and Halcyon bowed.
"Halcyon is fine, princess." she said as she looked up.
The princess smiled gently. "Alright, Halcyon. You see... You are an S.S. agent, a very talented one at that, from what I hear from your supreme officer."
Halcyon's mood brightened as she heard her superior had complemented her.
"Today, I would like to offer you an opportunity. It may not be desirable, given what an S.S. agent does- but I would very much appreciate it if you do accept- as I would be much overjoyed. Although of course- nothing is forced." the princess paused.
Halcyon waited in silence for the princess to start talking again, wondering what this opportunity might be.
"I would like you, to become one of my royal body guards." Princess Celestia said, pausing and waiting for Halcyon's reaction.
Halcyon just stared wide eyed. Royal guards were one thing- but the princess's royal body guards were another. They were the ones to stand either side of the princess, the last however strongest line of defense for royalty. Needless to say- only the best can get in. And here she was, being invited by the princess herself.
"I... I would be honored." Halcyon bowed.
"Lovely!" Princess Celestia grinned- unlike Halcyon had ever seen her. It was odd... It felt like she was chatting up a friend, or something. "I should probably send you to Ponyville straight away."
"P-Ponyville, princess?" Halcyon was a little confused. Scratch that, very confused.
"Oh, yes. I'm certain you'd love it there. Our top fashion designer Rarity is over there at the moment- I'm sure your cover up story covered that. Anyhow, she'll be designing your new armor- I do need my body guards looking stunning, after all." the princess chuckled. "I'll arrange transport immediately." she said, nodding at a nearby stallion who quickly moved off, obviously to signal a waiting transport.
"That's... Very generous of you, princess." Halcyon smiled.
"Thank you, dear. Now, the trip should be a fast one, so I don't think you have any personal belongings you need to take with you...?"
"No, princess. Of course not." Halcyon said calmly, but inside she was boiling with excitement. Maybe she became one of the princess's pets, but that was only a name that was called by other jealous try-hards.
She barely travelled anywhere by the luxurious first cabin, as she often viewed it as expensive and unnecessary. But now that she was in the first class cabin of the train, it really did have a totally different feel to it. There was the service, which was rather quite desirable considering the ten hour long train ride. Service included food, drinks, and the one thing Halcyon was looking forward the most to- a massage. Keeping a straight back all the time did hurt, after all. Best part was, she didn't have to pay a single bit.
Having some alone time in the private cabin, she quickly texted Blaze, asking to arrange another date sometime next week.
The reply came sooner than expected, and Halcyon frowned at it. It read: 'Hi Halcyon! I'm glad you did reply. Can't tell you how happy I am- but unfortunately I'm on some foreign business and am out of Canterlot, I might be able to make next week, but I'm not sure. Maybe arrange a meet-up after I get back? Sorry about the wait. It really was an emergency. -Blaze.'
"Foreign business, eh..." Halcyon put the phone back in her shoulder bag, which sat innocently on a small table. "Suppose accountants do have to sort some things out, sometimes..." she muttered to herself, some-what disappointed.
She called in the massage, and admittedly it was better than she expected. All the tense muscles in her back were relieved from tension as the professional massage pony rubbed her back. It was total bliss, so to make it even better she ordered a drink too.
After a few hours of that, she waved the massager away with a 'thanks' and continued on with her boredom. The skin on her shoulders and back hurt with all the rubbing, but she felt so completely relaxed.
Glancing at the time on her phone, it told her she still had five hours of boredom left- and she wondered how other ponies coped. She started a game of 'Angry Colts' on her phone, but for some reason could not for the life of her pass the last level.
Four hours to go.
She began typing a diary on her phone... 'Dear Diary, I am dying soooo baaaaad....'
Three hours.
After a fifteen thousand letter diary(mainly because most of the words were really looooong), she finally put her phone away and tried to find something else to do. She found her toolkit in her shoulder bag, and got the tweezers out. Rummaging through a cupboard, she found clothe hangers. The wire was relatively thin, she reasoned.
Two hours.
Now she had a table full of little wire framed toys she made with the hangers and tweezers. Some were functional, like the stick pony on a bicycle. But otherwise there really wasn't anything to do. Hiding the mess, she called for another drink.
By the time she got to Ponyville, she was almost half dead from boredom. Excitement slowly settled in as she hopped off the train with nothing but her shoulder bag.
Rarity's fashion shop should be somewhere near- she found the tent like structure in minutes, after walking through Ponyville several times, that is.
She pushed the door open gently, and bell ringing as she entered.
"Oh, hello my dear! What may I help you with?" Rarity said, greeting her as she would any other customer.
"I'm here because the princess-"
"Miss Fleet, is it? Of course, I'm quite honored to provide the new armor for the royal body guards..." Rarity said, pushing Halcyon into a seat. "Just you wait- I'll get the prototype straight away!" she said, running off into a storage room.
"Miss Rarity-" a familiar voice said, and a royal body guard entered, dressed in full armor, his red mane showing beneath the orangey golden helmet.
"Blaze!?" Halcyon stared in shock, and Blaze stared back.

Chapter 2: Welcome back... Or not.

Just as a note from the author- the dislike-like ratio is quite disturbing for me. As the author, I really couldn't place a hoof on what I'm doing wrong- or what expectations I'm failing. Please leave a comment and tell me! The ratio right now is killing me... But anyway. Here's chapter 2.

"Uh-oh." was all Blaze said.
"You... What?" Halcyon exclaimed.
"I... Am a royal bodyguard. My previous work had to be kept secret... So I couldn't tell you the truth... I'm sorry, Halcyon... Will you...?"
"It's hard not to when I pulled the same lie on you." Halcyon sighed, pulling out the summons letter.
Blaze stared at it. "What are the odds." he shook his head slowly.
"Like, thirty in a few million?" Halcyon said. All they knew was that there were thirty other Secret Service agents. Possibly more, but they weren't given more info on that.
Blaze sat down, his armor clunking. "Well that was interesting."
Now that her mind already caught up to the fact that her date was also going to be her partner, she analyzed the armor Blaze was wearing.
All the gold was tinted orange, giving a direct reference to fire in the light. Flame patterns were carved into the plates, otherwise it was just silver chain mail. The helmet had a visor that could be flipped down in combat, meaning that they removed the stupid looking mohawk the other guards had on their helmets. There were holes carved out to allow the ears out, and from what she could see there must be cushions inside so the edge doesn't cut into one's skin. The armor seemed to be made of titanium with a bit of gold for the color, and she could see a spell shimmering around it- probably to decrease the weight. The plates stopped at the joints, converting into chain mail. Seemed like one could easily move around in it- this may be a fashion shop, but what Rarity made here was completely combat ready.
"The armor certainly suits your name. And that's a nice cutie mark." Halcyon said, gesturing at the single flame tattooed across his flank.
"Eh... Yeah." Blaze said a little awkwardly.
Before Halcyon could say another word, Rarity dragged her behind a set of blinds and all Blaze could hear were the complaints and clunks as Rarity forced Halcyon to put on the armor. Dragging away the blinds, Blaze was impressed with the result.
Like his armor, it was made of titanium, except hers had silver touches and was tinted light blue.
Halcyon wriggled an arm around- it was quite light and comfortable. There were wave patterns carved into the plates, and her own cutie mark was printed on one of the rear plates- a blue crystal-like piece of ice. The sides were lined with canisters full of water- her superior must've revealed what combat style she used too.
"You look... Battle ready and stunning." Blaze said.
"Well of course she does." Rarity said proudly, pulling out a large mirror and placing it in front of Halcyon. "What do you think?"
Halcyon gaped at her reflection. Being a royal bodyguard was going to be hard work- but there are bonuses.
"Love it." she said simply, grinning.
"You two will make the best royal bodyguards so far!" Rarity declared excitedly. "I'm certain the princess will be pleased."
"Me too." Halcyon and Blaze said in unison.
"Alright then. I'm glad I can move on to the next project-" Rarity said. "Darlings, visit often. The Princess will be waiting in Canterlot~" she said in a sing-song voice.
Taking the train back was the last thing Halcyon was looking forward to. She was slightly annoyed that she didn't get a chance to wonder around Ponyville- ah well.
At least Blaze was with her. They sat opposite each other, rather awkwardly after their extremely unexpected encounter.
"So... Uh.... What else about you is...?" Halcyon began.
"Oh, nothing else, I can assure you that." Blaze said hurriedly, and they both plummeted back into silence, listening to the clunking of the train on rails.
Halcyon pulled out the frame toys she made earlier, still in a drawer where she hid them last time. Blaze's attention was attracted instantly as he pushed the mini bicycle around on the table.
Suddenly the bicycle fell over as they hit a bump. This was one heck of a bump though- it made both Blaze and Halcyon fall over and also knocked down the table and chairs.
"What the..." Halcyon rubbed her head, getting up. Then there was another bump, and she stumbled against the cupboard. Something's not right.
Blaze ran to the window, shoved it open, and poked his head out. He caught a glimpse of a dark shape moving away from the side and onto the roof, before Halcyon violently tugged him back in. There was a loud whoosh as they were thrown into darkness- they had entered a tunnel.
"You could have decapitated yourself." Halcyon said.
"Yeah... Thanks." Blaze rubbed his neck, glad it was still there. "I think I saw something move onto the roof."
Suddenly there was a loud crash, and the roof above them caved in, but didn't give way.
"Ya think?" Halcyon's horn glowed, and her armor popped out of its case and closed around her body. She nodded, the visor falling down and masking her face. With a bright flash, a white bow appeared in her hooves, along with a quiver full of arrows. They seemed to have a spell on them, and glinted in the dark.
Day light poured in as they exited the tunnel, and Blaze got into his own armor. His horn glowed, and he summoned his sword- a long metal blade that glowed orange with heat.
"Interesting weapon choice." Halcyon nodded.
"You too." Blaze said.
Whatever was on the roof pounded the metal again, denting it even further.
Blaze stabbed his sword into the roof and carved out a hole, but before he could finish the entire roof collapsed, a monster tumbling into the cabin, rocking the train.
The monster had some sort of armor on it, heavy naturally grown plates covering its body. Its front claws were huge, clearly used for digging. This thing looked like something that lived underground... Not on the surface.
Before Halcyon could do anything, the monster swiped a claw around at her. It was blunt, more like a hammer. She was hit full in the chest, and was sent flying back. She hit the far wall, then crashed through, tumbling onto the floor, surprised passengers yelping and scrambling out of the way. She got up, a little dizzy. There wasn't any real damage- thanks to her magical armor.
More debris flew as the monster clawed its way out of the first class cabin, roaring.
"Lead it to the roof! Get it away from the civilians!" Blaze yelled.
Halcyon flicked a canister out from its slot, the water spilling out into the air. Her horn glowed, and the water was instantly multiplied. Now there was at least a tub of water hovering before her in a huge ball.
It unfurled into a huge stream of high powered water, hitting the monster full in the chest. It went sprawling back into the first class cabin.
"No need." Halcyon said, the stream of water dividing in two, the first speeding into the first class cabin while the other turned into solid ice and began cutting through the metal connecting the two carriages.
Blaze gurgled as he was surrounded by water then dragged into the carriage Halcyon was in. The water disappeared into a thin stream, and refilled the canister, which retook its place on Halcyon's side. Blaze fell onto the floor, spluttering and coughing up water.
"What... Was that for?" he asked from the ground, totally soaked- although his armor still had its shine.
"I saved you." Halcyon said as there was a loud crack, and the first class carriage broke away from the back, the monster inside roaring its fury.
"I could've made that perfectly on my own." Blaze shivered, his horn glowing as a small flame appeared near him to warm him up and dry off the water.
Something crashed through a window, looked around, then snarled at them.
A diamond dog.
It charged at them, claws that could rip through solid rock ready to strike. Blaze moved in front of Halcyon, his sword already in his hooves.
The dog's claws clashed with the broader side of the sword, sparks flying. The momentum forced Blaze back, but Halcyon was already there.
She grabbed the dog's wrist, twisting it and thumping the dog to the ground and forcing it into an armlock.
More diamond dogs jumped through the windows, presumably after digging through the ground. Snarling and sharpening their claws, they charged.
"Lethal force is not authorized... Yet." Halcyon reminded Blaze.
"Copy." Blaze said, and jumped over the first dog. Rolling over his back, he landed behind it.
Blaze slammed his blade down, and it wove its way between the diamond dog and its jacket. The sword was stuck in the ground, and the diamond dog was effectively nailed there, yelping at the hot blade against its back.
Blaze ripped the leg off a nearby table, then stabbed it forward at the next dog's ankle. He tripped, falling face-first in front of Blaze, who kicked him across the floor.
By now Halcyon had already taken care of the first one, knocking him out with a strike to the back of the head. She quickly got up to assist Blaze.
"Anchor yourself mate." she said, flicking up a canister.
Blaze quickly ran back to where he nailed the first diamond dog, pulling the sword out from the ground and throwing the freed dog across the carriage. He stabbed the sword back into the ground again, tightening his hold on the handle.
Halcyon unleashed a tidal wave of water that washed all the diamond dogs out and into the other carriage. The passenger ponies were soaked and angry in their seats.
"Phew." Blaze released the hold of his sword.
"We better get off this train. It seems the dogs are after us." Halcyon noted.
Blaze looked at her. "Driver's compartment?"
Halcyon nodded. "We're not just going to jump off."
Right now it was like the date never happened. Right now, they were two elite royal guards. Buck them diamond dogs.
"Looks like we'll be fighting our way through." Blaze noted as his trained ear picked up the shattering of windows in other carriages. Located at the back, they'll have to go through the entire length of the train.
"Beat you to the end." Halcyon grinned.
"Bring it on." Blaze took up a starting position, his sword glowing behind him.
"Three..." Halcyon's grin grew even wider than before as she used magic to create a circle of water around her. "Two... One... GO!"
The two unicorns took off, leaving a trail of dust clouds behind them.
Blaze got to the door first, and kicked it open. As expected, there were diamond dogs right behind it. The one that was too close got hit full in the face by the door, and was knocked into a lamp, crushing the bulb.
The next received a hoof in the stomach, and Blaze swung the blade around. The blunt side clipped the dog on the temple, and he sprawled across the floor.
The other three diamond dogs leaped back, making some space between them and their opponent.
Blaze threw the sword at a small spot between the dogs. The sword flew straight past all of them, acting as a distraction. Shoving a pony off her chair, he ripped the seat away from the floor as he darted forward. He smashed the chair against the side of the first diamond dog's head, sending it flying into another. He then threw the chair at the remaining dogs.
One managed to leap over it, and bared its razor sharp teeth at Blaze, sharpening its claws.
Blaze stepped to the side, grabbed the dog's outstretched arm then directed his claw into the ground. It became stuck, and Blaze freed the dog by kicking him in the stomach. The dog went flying into a wall.
Blaze looked around. Where the buck is Halcyon? Then he heard the thumping on the roof.
"Clever bastard." he grinned, looking up. He yanked his sword out from the door, opening it at the same time. He was immediately tackled, and sent back into the earlier carriage.
He quickly got to his hooves, spotting the diamond dog not too far away. It lunged at him, teeth bared.
Blaze's horn glowed, and a huge fire appeared in front of him, but disappeared as soon as it was there. The flash flame caused air to be sucked towards it, enough to throw the dog off balance. Blaze caught the diamond dog by the shoulder, then swung him down and cracked his spine against his knee.
Halcyon leaped over the gap between the second and third-to-last carriage. There was another tunnel up ahead- she'll have to get back inside.
She grabbed hold of the edge of the roof, then swung down and crashed through a window. She slammed into a diamond dog as she entered, sending it out the other side.
"Oops." she said as the others snarled and surrounded her.
She tilted her head, a claw whizzing by her ear. She grabbed the arm, yanked it forward so the diamond dog got closer, then launched a kick into his knee. He yelled, but Halcyon didn't let go- yet. She swung him around into another, knocking them both down. This time she let go.
The circle of water that spun around her exploded outwards and took the remaining dogs off their feet. The blast traveled over the heads of startled and scared passengers.
Usually Halcyon would've had less fun fighting these bastards, but right now- they had no escape. Their best advantage of digging couldn't be used on a moving vehicle.
And then it occurred to her.
"Oh shuck-" she used her water and cut a clean path between her and the next carriage. "Blaze!" she yelled.
"Aha! Caught up." a diamond dog crashed through the door behind her, and Blaze walked in.
"That's the least of our worries. Diamond dogs don't exactly have an advantage on a vehicle- so..." Halcyon tried to explain her thoughts.
"They might try to stop the train?" Blaze raised an eyebrow.
Halcyon nodded. "We should probably go to the roof, and get ready to bail out if we need to."
The diamond dogs around them began scrambling to their feet, their claws raised in surrender.
"Get out." Blaze ordered, and they all jumped out.
"That was... A little too odd."
"I noticed."
There was a tap on the window, and both unicorns turned their heads. A diamond dog was outside, his right claw digging deep into the side of the train. He waved a remote detonator at them, grinning.
"Shu-" Blaze grabbed Halcyon's shoulder, and pulled her towards the opposite window. The diamond dog let go, and disappeared from view.
The entire right side of the train exploded, erupting into a gigantic fireball. Blaze leaped out of the left window, dragging Halcyon with him. He managed to use magic to decrease the size of the explosion- but the train was already derailing and tipping to one side.
The shockwave followed the heat, and blasted both Blaze and Halcyon on the back.
Blaze watched the ground slowly approach underneath them, at least five meters away. They were tumbling through the air, the world a slow blur of motion. He watched the ground get closer and closer every time he spun around to it, and eventually-
His back cracked against the hard soil, and he continued tumbling down the hill. There were noises- a lot of noises. Metal groaning, loud explosions, the ruffling of grass as he rolled down the hill- it made his head hurt.
He finally stopped, his back hitting a rock. The air left his lungs, and he stayed there, unable to make a sound.
The train had completely derailed, but still had its momentum. Blaze watched as the front of it hit the side of a tunnel entrance, crumbling in and compressing. Then it exploded too, blowing away the carriages behind it. One carriage was launched into the air after a lever-like effect, and flew spinning high over Blaze's head. It landed twenty meters behind him, exploding into a fireball.
Blaze gasped, air suddenly filling his lungs. His ears rung, and his vision was slightly blurry. He watched a large dark shape approach, his mind unclear and confused. His vision suddenly sharpened, and his instincts that were hammered into him during training kicked in.
He found some reserve power in his muscles, and with one sudden burst of energy he leaped to the side and out of the way.
The carriage that was rolling down the hill clipped the boulder he was leaning against only seconds before, and flew up into the air. It slammed back down with a deafening crash, and continued tumbling down the hill.
Blaze was breathing hard, glad he wasn't crushed. But that relief immediately faded as he took a look around him.
Bits of train carriages were everywhere, scattered about. There were whole carriages still burning, large chunks missing. Hell, the entire world seemed to be burning.
Blaze scrambled to his feet. A sinking feeling filled his heart as he found no sign of the white unicorn.
"Halcyon!" he called desperately, spinning about and looking around him, searching for the one date he actually liked, and hoped to spend more time with. "HALCYON!"
He suddenly stopped, the world seemingly going silent around him. Halcyon was lying in the grass, propped up against the side of a tipped carriage. Blood poured down her left side from where a long peice of metal support railing impaled her shoulder to the carriage. Her chest heaved with every strained breath, and blood trickled down her face from a wound on her forehead. Her eyes were half open, determined but weak.
"Halcyon!" Blaze rushed to her side.

Chapter 3: Limbs

"Hal..." Blaze kneeled down beside his fallen comrade.
"Gimme your arm." Halcyon said.
"What?" Blaze raised an eyebrow.
"Just do it." Halcyon said.
Blaze let her grab his arm, still wondering what she was doing.
"This might hurt a bit." Halcyon said, although she wasn't sure whether she was talking to herself or Blaze as she clamped her teeth around Blaze's arm.
She then grabbed the piece of metal sticking out of her shoulder, and ripped it out of her shoulder. The metal at the back snapped and slid through her flesh, and she bit down on Blaze's arm, groaning because of the pain.
Blaze ground his teeth together. He rubbed a hoof on Halcyon's back in an attempt to sooth her.
Halcyon was freed, and she fell forward. Blaze caught her in his arms, and gently lay her down on a soft spot on the ground.
"Need one more favor..." Halcyon said weakly.
"Go ahead." Blaze said without hesitation.
"Use your fire and seal the wound." Halcyon managed to say, unbelievably tired.
Blaze stared at her. "You want me to burn you?"
"It's scary when you say it that way." Halcyon muttered, the shadows on her face constantly shifting because of a flickering fire nearby.
"Come on, you're hot enough to burn yourself..." Blaze tried to lighten the mood with a joke, and Halcyon wanted to face-hoof but was too tired to do so. "But seriously though... How could I do something like that?"
"Because I told you to...?" Halcyon said, and then a sharp wave of pain swept down her body from her shoulder. "Just do it, will you." she said through gritted teeth.
"One date I actually liked..." Blaze muttered, standing up. "And I have to burn her. This world is messed up."
"Look around you." Halcyon noted.
"True." Blaze said. They were practically in the middle of the terrorist attack.
He ignited a small flame in his hooves. Halcyon closed her eyes, tightened into a frown as she waited for the pain.
He brought the flame onto Halcyon's shoulder, and it sent spears through his heart to see Halcyon in pain.
Halcyon couldn't help but whimper, but she knew she had to wait a little longer. And then Blaze took the flame away, and the burning faded.
Her shoulder had lost its sharp pain, but had a constant throbbing in it. The fire had left a scar behind, sealing the wound. There was still blood matted on it though, so she used her water to gently wash it away.
Blaze sat down opposite her, also tired; but mainly mentally.
"What now?" Halcyon asked, turning her water into an ice pack and placing it on her shoulder.
"I don't know." Blaze shook his head. They were miles away from Canterlot, even further away from Ponyville. They were basically in the middle of nowhere, with help too far away. It'll also take too long for either station to notice that the train had gone missing.
"Blaze..." Halcyon flushed as she said this.
"Yes?" Blaze looked up.
"You said, 'One date I actually liked', you know; earlier..."
"You're gonna bring that up now?" Blaze laughed.
"Says the stallion that made a joke while I was bleeding myself to death." Halcyon muttered, her face almost as red as Blaze's.
"But yeah. It's true." Blaze looked Halcyon in the eyes. "I really think you're different."
Halcyon pulled on a nervous smile. "I could say the same to you."
And then, as expected, awkward silence followed.
Both their ears pricked as they heard a growl. Blaze nodded slowly, and Halcyon returned the gesture. She melted her ice pack back into water, ready for a fight.
Blaze flicked his hoof, a flame hovering above it. If the diamond dogs are still here...
"I believe lethal force is authorized?" Blaze whispered.
"For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction." Halcyon gestured at the mess around them. "Yes."
There was a quiet clang above Blaze, enough for him to spin around.
The diamond dog on top of the carriage bared its teeth, and jumped down.
Blaze sent a stream of fire towards it, the force and rush of air knocking it back. It howled, the sound echoing across the valley.
"Shuck. He's going to attract more of them!" Halcyon cursed. "We have to run for it!"
"Hold on- leave one last surprise." Blaze said, his horn glowing and turning a nearby carriage into metal powder.
Halcyon watched him for a moment, then grinned. "You devil."

"Keep... Running..." Blaze huffed and puffed as they climbed up the hill.
"Damn..." Halcyon suddenly fell down onto her knees, exhausted. Her loss of blood was taking its toll on her.
Blaze stopped too, helping Halcyon up. From up here they had a clear view of the train wreck. In the middle of it however, was a huge block of ice and a pile of metal powder.
"Are they coming?" Halcyon asked, trying to catch her breath.
"There-" Blaze pointed to several dots closing in on the train wreck.
Halcyon grinned. "We got ya this time, buckers..." she summoned her bow and arrow, loading it. Blaze set the tip of the arrow on fire.
"Wait for it..." he said, watching the dogs close around the big hunk of ice and wonder what it's for. "Fire!"
Halcyon released, and the arrow went into the sky, then back down in a graceful arc. It hit the metal powder, igniting it. They watched the fire expand, then-
The huge hunk of ice blew apart, covering the train wreck in a thick cloud of dust. Following the explosion a huge fireball rose into the sky, then turned into thick black smoke. The shockwave followed, and swept Blaze off his hooves. Halcyon tipped back, since she was already sitting on the ground.
When the dust settled, all they saw of the train wreck was a huge crater.
"Thermite and ice..." Blaze said. "Don't try this at home." he helped Halcyon up.
Halcyon groaned, a sudden wave of pain shot from her shoulder. She must've put too much strain on it when firing the bow and arrow.
"You alright?" Blaze asked. Halcyon nodded, but Blaze could see through that lie. "Let me help you-" he lifted her good arm over his shoulder, and helped her up.
"Thanks..." Halcyon said weakly.
"We need to keep going. Those bastards will be after us again soon enough- that is, if there are any of them left." Blaze said, helping Halcyon walk.
They were heading for Canterlot, since Ponyville is further away. There was a forest in their way, they'll just have to cut through it. It'll also provide some cover for them- better than being out in the open like they are now.
The forest was a sudden dark area, a dramatic contrast to the sun-baked plains outside it. The crisp green grass wavered gently in the summer breeze, littered with small white flowers.
"This... Would've been a lot better if it were a date..." Halcyon muttered. The view here was beautiful, and she could just picture the two of them having a picnic here.
"Sure would..." Blaze said, a single drop of sweat sliding down his face.
"Over there... We could teleport." Halcyon pointed at the lush forest.
"Hold on." Blaze hugged Halcyon tight. She was too weak to teleport herself, so he'll have to teleport them both. Canterlot was still out of range, so they'll have to slowly make jumps. But bringing Halcyon with him meant Blaze has to take extra time to recover energy before the next jump, which by his calculations would take them two days and two nights until they reach Canterlot. Otherwise... They might end up in Canterlot in fractions.
His horn glowed, and everything flashed. A moment later they were standing in front of the forest, the tall pine trees looming over them. Halcyon relished the shade, and felt weaker by the second.
"I'm sorry... I'm just slowing you down..." she mumbled.
Blaze knew this would come eventually. He already knew his answer. "Not leaving you behind." he said simply.
"If you just go get help... It'll be much faster..."
"And there's no guarantee that you'll stay alive on your own until then." Blaze said, looking at her. "Even worse, they might keep you alive."
Halcyon knew what he meant, but she hated feeling powerless like this.
"We should go deeper into the forest, then we can wait out the night. Hopefully you can regain some strength after sleeping." Blaze continued helping her walk towards the darker parts of the forest.
The dense leaves above were shielding out the light, however there was still the occasional beam that made it past. They seemed oddly bright in the otherwise dark forest, illuminating the area around them.
It got a lot damper and colder as they proceeded deeper into the forest. There was no sunlight left to heat them up, and Halcyon shivered. Seeing this, Blaze quickly ignited a flame and held it in a hoof. That seemed to stop Halcyon shivering. Their own body heat did little to warm them up, as both of them were being drained. Every step they made seemed loud in the eery silence. There was a lot of background noise, birds chirping and the ruffling of leaves.
Blaze stepped on a twig, and it crunched loudly under his hoof. He shielded his eyes as they neared a clearing, waiting for his eyes to adjust. It was just an ordinary clearing, the grass growth thinning out towards the center.
He looked up, estimating the location of the sun. It was in the afternoon... Night will be coming soon. Better start setting up for a cold night.
"Hal..." he nudged Halcyon gently. "We're going to rest here for the night, OK?"
Halcyon nodded, too weak to speak. Blaze set her down against a tree, making sure she was comfortable. He then lay down beside her, taking a rest from the walking.
Halcyon grabbed his arm, clinging onto it. She was already asleep, Blaze could tell.
She snuggled closer, snoring quietly. Blaze smiled, gently patting her on the back.
"We're going to make it out of here together." he whispered, and kissed her on the forehead.

The night came in fast. Halcyon opened her eyes, the dullness in her mind gone but every inch of her body aching. She could feel warmth on her left half, while it was freezing on her right.
"You're awake." Blaze said, sitting near a small campfire. So that's why Halcyon felt half cold and half warm- her left side was facing the fire while her right was freezing itself in the night.
She crawled up, every muscle aching. She quickly sat down near the camp fire, rubbing her hooves together.
Blaze smiled, pointing at his helmet levitating over the fire, filled with hay and some other vegetables.
"Just need your water, then that'll be soup for us." he grinned.
Halcyon filled it up, and they waited for the water to boil.
"Thanks, Blaze." she said, smiling down at the ground.
"For what?" Blaze asked.
"For saving my life. For what you're doing right now." Halcyon said.
Blaze paused. "Just doing what I can." he said.
"And right now you could easily be sitting next to me." Halcyon noted. Blaze was on the other side of the camp fire, and for some reason she felt alone on her end.
"Just didn't want you to wake up and find it awkward..." Blaze muttered, standing up and moving to sit beside Halcyon.
Halcyon hugged a startled Blaze tightly as he settled down, because having him close just wasn't enough. Blaze hugged her back, a little awkwardly. He never thought it possible that he would be in this 'cuddling' stage after just one normal date. But normal dates don't include surviving a train wreck and beating up diamond dogs that try to kill you with explosives and claws.
The night sky was clearer than it was before. There were clouds, but otherwise everything was crystal clear. It seemed so deep, stretching so far away. Usually it just looked like a shell covering the atmosphere- but tonight, there were layers and layers of stars, the ones further away dimmer than the ones that were closer. They all twinkled, clean white. The pair could even see distant spirals of other galaxies, dotted with even smaller stars.
Neither of them needed to say the sight was beautiful. It would just be speaking the obvious.
Suddenly they could hear the water bubbling. Blaze quickly moved it off the fire, rubbing his hooves together.
Halcyon's horn glowed, levitating a third of the soup into the air in a shimmering mass.
"Surely you'll be eating more than that?" Blaze raised an eyebrow.
Halcyon was about to say 'You need more of it to recover energy', but decided to make Blaze uncomfortable just for the fun of it.
"Are you calling me fat?" she asked instead.
"Wha..?" Blaze was taken a back. "What- No! NO! That's not what I meant at all! I just thought you've lost a lot of blood and-"
Halcyon giggled. "Yeah, I know. Just screw'n with ya." she leant on Blaze, who let out a sigh of relief.
Blaze took a sip. Wasn't the best soup he made, but not the worst either.
Crickets chirped in the distance, and the pair could really appreciate the natural environment. For years they were stuck in Canterlot, never once getting a vacation in some slightly more remote place.
Halcyon whimpered, and despite her trying her best to keep it down; Blaze still heard.
"You OK?" he asked.
"Yeah. Just my shoulder." Halcyon said.
"Would an ice pack help? I'm sure it would numb the pain..."
"Nah. I'll be fine. Just tired." Halcyon said, snuggling up against Blaze as she finished the last of her soup.
"Sure you don't want more food? If the soup doesn't taste good I did see some berries nearby..."
"No." Halcyon said defiantly, squeezing Blaze's arm. "Don't leave me unless you need to."
The fire continued crackling, sending the occasional spark jumping away. Blaze was glad the diamond dogs weren't after them yet- he'll have to put out the fire after Halcyon falls asleep and then move them both up to a tree or something. Hopefully the dogs won't find them there.
Soon enough, with Blaze gently patting her back and rubbing her sore shoulder; Halcyon fell asleep again. Blaze was still patting her back and yawning when he noticed she had already gone asleep. He sighed, relieved he can rest soon too.
Putting out the fire, he levitated a still sleeping Halcyon onto a nearby pine tree. The pine needles were soft- he already tested them. And the density thick enough to support their weight. He slowly climbed up, then lay down beside Halcyon. Every muscle in his body relaxed, aching pleasantly as he closed his eyes. Small bits of the night sky glowed gently through the spots in the pine, adding to the peace.
Slowly Blaze drifted off to welcoming sleep, Halcyon's quiet breathing a soothing presence next to him.

Blaze abruptly woke from his dream as his instincts kicked in, his ears twitching as he picked up talking. His reaction was to sit up, and he hit his head on a brand above him. He quickly covered his mouth, tears filling his eyes as his forehead throbbed. Wiping away the tears, he peered down.
The diamond dogs had caught up. They were talking down below, and the largest of them all seemed very angry. Presumably the boss.
"You found the camp fire, but no ponies?" he yelled menacingly at a nearby diamond dog.
Blaze wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead. The plan worked- they haven't spotted them yet.
Suddenly the big diamond dog slammed a fist into the tree out of anger, and Blaze tumbled over the edge.
There was a ruffling noise as he reached up, grabbing a branch just in time. He dangled there, holding onto a branch, the diamond dogs still unaware of his presence. But his grip was slipping.
Shuck, he thought as his hooves slid over and off the smooth pine needles.
Halcyon suddenly leaned over the edge, catching him by the wrist and grabbing hold of the branch with her other hoof to stop herself from falling.
But she was using her bad arm, still injured. She gritted her teeth together, feeling her arm slowly being pulled out of its socket.
She had to reach over with her good arm too, but that meant there was little stopping her from falling as well.
There was a loud crack, and the branch snapped. They both tumbled down, slamming through layers thick of pine needles. They heard the diamond dogs' alerted yelps, and the big dog issuing commands.
Halcyon quickly grabbed Blaze's hoof among all the chaos, and concentrated her mind in the direction of Canterlot.
The world around them flashed a bright blue, and Halcyon looked to her right; where Blaze should be. She saw him break away into pieces as they teleported, the deconstruction process reaching her arm. Her arm began breaking up too, fading into the light around them.
And then everything reverted back to normal, and she was still tumbling through the pine needles.
A single drop of blood flew above Halcyon, right before her eyes. She watched it shift in shape, still unsure of what it might mean.
And then she hit the ground, knocking the breath from her lungs. Her mane was in her face and she quickly moved her right hoof to move it out of the way-
But her right hoof wasn't there. Not even her right arm.
She looked down, and saw that there was blood splattered down the right side of her body and a crimson puddle where her right arm should be.
Her magical energy was only enough to teleport Blaze and her right arm away from the area. After all, she still hasn't recovered.
"Look what we have here..." she saw several grey shapes lean over, wide smirks on the diamond dogs' faces. Her eyes were blurring because tears were streaming into them.
Run, Blaze. Please don't come back.

Chapter 4: Well That Escalated Quickly

Author: Sorry to all that actually liked this story. Was unexpected, as the story barely has a storyline. Just me, writing whatever comes to mind- and that can be very slow at times. This chapter is pretty rushed... But I'll try up the quality back to normal standards in future chapters.

"Oh buck... Thanks Hal, if it weren't for you we wouldn't have- EEK!!" Blaze jumped away from Halcyon's right arm, which was slowly forming a puddle of blood in the grass. He backed away from it, constantly rubbing his eyes and not believing what he was seeing.
"Halcyon!" he yelled, but he could potentially be miles away from their last location. "Oh, god..." he slumped down under a tree, his back pressing into the rough surface of the trunk. He felt sick, both emotionally and physically. He couldn't help but blame himself for what happened- if only he could've been more useful...
The guilt alone was enough to make him whimper.
"Oh Halcyon... What have I done..." he buried his face in his hooves. It made his heart ache, thinking that Halcyon may be slaughtered by now. He quickly shook it off- nothing is certain yet.
He started climbing the tree behind him, just to see if he could get a clear view of where they were.
Stay military, Blaze- He told himself. Need to keep calm if you want to get Hal outta there.
He finally reached the top, shielding his eyes from the bright sun. By now either Canterlot or Ponyville should have noticed that the train had gone missing- as it was supposed to reach Canterlot at five in the morning. From what he could tell of the sun, it was more or less ten in the morning- five hours since scheduled arrival.
He has no idea where Halcyon teleported him- but he could judge just about where he was.
Thick smoke was still evident in the air from the train wreck- and from the looks of it, it wasn't really far away. Canterlot was in the distance, so Halcyon should be somewhere between the two.
"Stay put..." Blaze said, his horn glowing. He decided to teleport in- since he'll have a low chance of finding Hal in time if he were to make it on hoof.
The world flashed, and he was in the middle of the clearing they were in a second ago.
"There he is!" a diamond dog yelled.
"Huh." Blaze was surprised by the precision of his estimate. Casting that surprise aside, he drew his burning sword.
"Blaze- damnit Blaze! You bucking idiot! I didn't sacrifice my arm so you could just come back and get killed!" Halcyon yelled angrily, tied to a tree and her wound bleeding freely and blood dripping down the tree trunk. She looked down, gritting her teeth. Tears drifted down her cheeks as a frustrated frown found its way onto her face. "I... I just wanted to see you alright. Why would you disobey that wish?" she looked up, her expression sending needles through Blaze's heart.
"You know, I hate it when I lose something." Blaze's eyes were shielded away under the shadow of his mane. "That gutting feeling. I hate it. I can accidentally drop ten cents down a drain and kick myself for it. You think I could live on normally if I knew I could've done something to save you?" he looked up, eyes unwavering.
"Blaze..." Halcyon looked away- What more is there to say?
"I'm doing this for the both of us. Not just you, not just me." Blaze turned the blade on its side, the orange metal catching a glint of sunlight. "This is one fight I won't be losing."
"Touching." the head diamond dog said dryly, tilting his head to one side and causing his neck to crack loudly. "Get him. Then we can slowly burn the two of them to death together and get their heads..."
"My head's staying on my shoulders." Blaze said. "And so is Hal's." he added.
The earth beneath his hooves suddenly lifted, a diamond dog leaping out with claws flashing. Blaze rolled back, the sword stabbed into the ground to stop him from tumbling too far.
He pulled it out, swinging it around at the dog's head. As expected, he blocked the sword with a claw. Blaze kicked down- stallions might not have razor sharp claws, but you don't want to get anywhere near those legs and hooves.
His hoof cracked down onto the dog's leg, shattering the bone inside. The flesh on the outside was torn apart as it cracked into a ninety-degree angle, blood splattering onto the grass.
The diamond dog yelped in pain, crumbling down, giving Blaze a clean cut at his neck. The screaming was abruptly cut short, gurgling to a stop.
"I'm still a royal guard. And I will carry out my duties-" Blaze's horn glowed, the sword burning a bright orange. "As the fury of Equestria."
The ground around him broke apart, diamond dogs crawling out. He jumped back, a dog's claws falling short. He stabbed the sword down into his paw, anchoring the dog to the ground.
He turned around, slamming a hoof into another dog's wrist, sending the strike under his arm. He brought his arm down, clamping the dog by the wrist; the claw uselessly trying to grab at Blaze.
He swung a hoof into the dog's face, but still didn't let go. Blood and spittle flew off, and Blaze struck again. The diamond dog tried to block it, but Blaze's hoof found its way into his ribs. He felt the bone crack under the force, and twisted. He heard a loud crack behind him as he twisted the dog's arm, then let go and kicked backwards. The battered and near-dead diamond dog tumbled across the grass, finally resting on the ground and close to pieces.
Blaze kicked a back hoof into the diamond dog he anchored to the ground earlier, cracking its head back and tearing the adam's apple apart. He yanked the sword out, turning around to face the third diamond dog.
Blaze threw the sword like a javelin, sending it slicing through the air. The diamond dog stepped to the side, the sword flying past. Taking the opportunity that Blaze has been disarmed, it lunged.
There was a bright flash, and the sword was in Blaze's hooves again. The sword was enchanted like Halcyon's bow, and the owners could summon the weapons any time they wanted.
The diamond dog fell for the trap, and ran straight through the blade. Blaze heard two separate thuds behind him as the body fell to the ground, and didn't bother looking back.
The last diamond dog leaped out of the ground, and Blaze blocked the strike with his arm guard, attached to the armor. He pushed the dog away, backing off and trailing the sword behind him.
The diamond dog lunged forward, an outstretched claw reaching out before him. Blaze aimed the tip of the sword directly at the palm, and stabbed forth. The sword slid through the dog's claw, then its momentum carried its head into the tip as well. The sword slid into its skull and halved its brain, and its claw made a dull thud as it hit the hilt of the sword. Blaze yanked it out, the dead diamond dog crumpling down onto the floor.
"As I would've thought." the head diamond dog said in his deep voice, narrowing his eyes. "Guess I have to join the battle, aye."
"I'll force you to if you don't anyway." Blaze said, flicking the blood off the sword.
The diamond dog lunged forward, and Blaze sliced the sword right down between his eyes- but it didn't go through his skull.
"Takes a bit more for metal to cut metal." the diamond dog said, grinning and forcing the sword away.
Blaze backed away, his horn glowing and his sword catching fire. He whipped it around, slicing it straight at the dog's neck. Once again, it only just cut into his skin. However, the flames set his fur on fire, and Blaze pulled away.
The diamond dog fell into a crouching position as the fire continued to burn away at his flesh, but made no effort to put it out.
"What is he...?" Halcyon stared wide eyed as the dog stood back up again, practically a skeleton on fire.
Then the flames ran out of flesh to burn, and faded away. Through the smoke, the skeleton of the diamond dog stepped through the flames that were eating away at the grass. It was no ordinary skeleton- it had glowing red eyes, and the body was made of metal. Through closer inspection, Blaze could see hydraulics, motors, and various other mechanics. It was a robot.
"Interesting." Blaze tilted his head to one side.
The robot lunged forward, tackling Blaze to the ground. Blaze pressed the sword forward into the robot's neck, and it barked and bit at him, the metallic teeth inches away from his nose.
"Mate, I ain't kissing you before I kiss Hal over there." he said, shoving the robot away. It tumbled onto the ground, but rolled and got back up again.
Blaze darted forward, sliding under a claw that would've torn his face off. He flipped back up, jamming the sword through the mess of hydraulics.
The robot looked at the sword, growled, and swiped a claw at Blaze.
Blaze leaned to the right, the claw scratching three deep cuts into his face. He fell back, startled. The robot leaped into the air, then came back down again; metal teeth clunking against each other. There was a flash, and Blaze stabbed the sword right through a crack in the robot's skull, the blade going all the way through and the hilt clunking against its metal head.
Then Blaze was hit in the side by a huge claw, tearing through his skin. He tumbled across the grassy clearing, before his back cracked against a tree trunk. He fell onto the floor with a thud, his armor absorbing most of the impact. Blood leaked out of a wound in his side where the armor failed to protect, and he moaned.
"Blaze!" Halcyon cried worriedly, then groaned as the rough texture of the tree she was tied to brushed against her bare flesh wound.
"I'm fine..." Blaze stumbled up, trying to catch his breath. "Keep yourself alive."
"I assure you I won't die before you do." Halcyon said, flinching again at the pain.
"That's very... Reassuring." Blaze said, swinging the sword in a wide arch to meet the robot's claw.
The metallic clang of the impact echoed loudly around the silent forest, startling birds and sending them flying away.
A stream of fire shot from Blaze's outstretched front hoof, but the robot was unaffected by it. It leaped right through, skidding to a halt on the dirt.
Halcyon looked down at the ropes binding her while the battle raged on between Blaze and the robot diamond dog.
Her horn glowed, and her bow appeared in her mouth. Not much for cutting, but at least something. She started rubbing the sharp end of the bow against the ropes, slowly cutting her way through them.
"Blaze! Get me free!" she growled. The bow wasn't doing much.
"This guy ain't giving me a chance!" Blaze yelled back, blocking a claw inches away from his face with his sword.
"Taken care of." a new voice said, the authority in that voice making both royal guards turn.
A dark bat pony cut Halcyon free with a small throwing knife. She was wearing the royal night guard armor, the sides lined with pockets filled with throwing knives of all sorts.
"Captain Nightshade of the Night Guards." the bat pony introduced herself.
"Welcome to the fray captain." Blaze said, kicking the robot away.
Blink Nightshade whipped out a throwing knife from her side pocket, flinging it across the clearing, past Blaze's face; and into the robot's mouth. There was a soft beep, and an EMP detonated from the knife. The robot's wires fizzed out, and it collapsed to the ground.
"Correct equipment is essential." Nightshade said, attending to Halcyon's wound.
Blaze blinked. Everything just happened so fast- he still wasn't sure what had happened. Of course, both royal bodyguards have seen Captain Nightshade before when she was standing guard next to Princess Luna- and they had heard of her special abilities.
"Captain- we owe you a big one." Blaze saluted.
"Get yourself sorted soldier." Nightshade said, tying a bandage onto Halcyon's wound. She whimpered at the pain, but gritted her teeth together. "Clean those wounds. You don't need an emergency bandage, but we'll be back at Canterlot headquarters immediately."
"How did you find us..?" Halcyon asked.
"You bastards woke me up." Nightshade said, helping Halcyon up.
"Sorry captain!" Blaze said, although of course he didn't mean it. Thank goodness they woke her up, if he were honest with himself.
"No worries. Was having a bad dream anyway." Nightshade chuckled. "Don't know how the annoying kid from junior high found his way into my brain again, but the next time he does I'll be sure to kick him out."
They all chuckled at that, Halcyon a little painfully. Blaze gasped when his arm accidentally brushed against his flesh wound.
"You two sure earned some rest. Won't be on duty for a while, you two." Nightshade said, laying a hoof on Blaze's shoulder.
"Er... Thank you...? Sir?" Blaze raised an eyebrow.
"This your first time teleporting with me?" Nightshade asked.
"Afraid so, Captain." Halcyon groaned.
"Hope you guys didn't have too much for breakfast then." Nightshade said, and blinked. The world flashed, and the forest was gone. Blaze and Halcyon were just glad that this was over- that they could finally be home. After all the hardship and bloodshed... It was impossible to say no to a little rest.

Two months later, Halcyon's hospital ward.

"Well. It's almost coming back." Halcyon said, looking down at her new arm.
"Not really no." Blaze said.
Halcyon flapped the flimsy little arm around in the tub full of gooey medical liquids, and Blaze clutched his stomach and mouth. It was pale white, not the majestic light blue of Halcyon's skin. It was almost see-through too, which made it much more disgusting.
"Don't worry. It'll be in another month." Halcyon said.
"I'm not touching that thing, for pony's sake." Blaze said.
"Oh?" Halcyon narrowed her eyes, splashing Blaze with the liquid.
Blaze squealed, tipping back in his chair and falling on the ground. They both started laughing, giggling sillily and enjoying each other's company.
Nightshade turned out to be more than just a bat-winged pony after all- she could teleport just by blinking. And if it weren't for her, the both of them would probably be dead by now. In fact, even she barely made it back in time. Halcyon had lost so much blood that the teleportation process nearly killed her, but it was their only option anyway. After that the hospital immediately took her to the emergency room while Blaze was left with a few bandages- a sacrifice he was more than willing to make. He'd rather be left in pain for an hour or so than have Halcyon do it. Nightshade mysteriously disappeared after that, leaving them to themselves. The wait for an answer from the doctor was grueling, and the pain in Blaze's wounds didn't help. But eventually he was greeted by an unconscious Halcyon, an oxygen mask over her face. The doctor assured Blaze she was fine, just recovering from severe blood loss.
Nightshade came back to visit an hour later.
"Glad to see you guys getting along fine." she said as she entered the hospital room, just in time to see Halcyon splash Blaze with the gooey liquid.
"Terribly sorry sir-" Blaze tried to get up, but slipped on the floor and fell back down again.
"Don't even try to explain it." Nightshade sighed.
Both Blaze and Halcyon blushed- not the best impression to make to a superior leader.
"Anyway. I have a request for you two." Nightshade continued.
"Sir..?" Blaze raised an eyebrow. He still had his bandages on, the wound was healed- but there were some rib fractures that required fixing as well. Halcyon wasn't even fully recovered at all yet, and was still in bed.
"Don't worry. Doesn't concern you straight away." Nightshade said.
"Sir." Blaze said, indicating for Nightshade to go on.
"After much investigation, we have found the associates that hired the diamond dogs with diamonds. Well, all we have is one name, after we identified the dogs with DNA tests. Valkyrie Miase. This name mean anything to you?"
"No, sir. Not familiar." Halcyon said.
"Please, private. Drop the formalities." Nightshade waved irritably.
"Yes, Sir- I mean-"
"Never mind." Nightshade said. "But the contract said specifically to assassinate the two of you."
"That's... Nice...." Blaze said slowly.
"We made the assumption that somepony didn't want the Princess's royal bodyguards around..." Nightshade said, turning away and facing the window. "We're keeping the princesses indoors until you two recover. We can't afford replacements, since the two of you should've remained secret." she lowered her head. "We're afraid there might be a traitor in the royal military that sold you two out, that's why we can't draw in anypony to replace you two in the mean time."
"The princess is being targeted?" Blaze raised an eyebrow. "Who would be stupid enough to do that?"
"No. The question should be who is powerful enough to take that risk." Nightshade said, weighing the information in her head.
"So we have to protect the princess, like we always do." Blaze said.
"Correct." Nightshade said. "And, I'm thinking of promoting the both of you."
"We... Quite recently got promoted... Sir... Not as to say we are not thrilled, of course. We are much honored." Blaze said cheerily, however suppressing his joy and showing next to nothing on the outside.
"The rank won't be publicly recognized, and bears a lot of responsibility." Nightshade warned.
"We worked in the Secret Service. I think we know what it's like." Halcyon noted.
"Very well. Instead of defending Equestria, you'll be defending this universe."
There was a long pause as Blaze and Halcyon's eyebrows raised so high they disappeared behind their manes.
"Er... Funny joke..? Sir...?" Blaze didn't really know what to say.
"No joke." Nightshade said, irritated. "I have been informed by an ancient AI of the existence of an organization that constantly defends the universe from change."
"I guess Doctor Whooves is in trouble..." Blaze muttered.
"No. In fact, the Doctor is responsible for correcting the timeline in this particular case. But yes, should he not be operating under our restraints he could be." Nightshade said, turning back around to face the pair. "I have also been informed to choose several other guardians. I, myself, am one of them chosen by the AI. Now I would very much like it should you two join... But think carefully. It's a big decision."
"I'm still not sure what we do..." Halcyon said.
"We are all talented ponies. This organization intends to use these talents to good. We don't specifically fight crime- we fight to keep the universe as it is." Nightshade said.
Blaze paused for a moment, looking down at the ground. "Sorry sir... We don't think we're really up to the task." he said, and Halcyon nodded.
"I'll give you two time." Nightshade said, opening the window and hopping onto the edge. "Maybe the coming events may clear your minds." she said, and with a bright flash was gone; leaving Blaze and Halcyon to baffle over the offer.
"Well, that escalated quickly." Blaze said, shrugging.

Chapter 5: Short Time Off

A few more months pass- and Halcyon finally has her arm fully back. Now they're at their favorite place in Canterlot- the ice-cream shop.
"I missed you so much~" Halcyon said, hugging her own arm- although it proved a difficulty to do so.
"Please stop doing that in public." Blaze said, gesturing at the ponies that were looking at Halcyon like she was a crazy mare.
"What? I really did miss it..." Halcyon muttered, blushing.
Blaze put an arm around her shoulder. "All ya stallions, she's mine. So look away now, cause you don't have a chance here."
The ponies looked away, a little irritably- and this only made Halcyon blush even more.
"You can stop that now." she whispered.
"I could." Blaze said, hugging her tightly and giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Ah! Blaze and Hal! Never thought I'd see you two together." the shop keeper said cheerfully as they stepped up next in line.
"She knows you?" Halcyon and Blaze said at the same time, looking at each other.
"Course I did." the shop keeper grinned. "This ice-cream shop here's the most visited in all of Equestria! Everypony comes here."
"Well... In that case... I'll just have a strawberry ice-cream." Blaze said.
"How about I give you that second one for free? Aye, Hal?" the shop keeper grinned again.
"If that's not too much trouble..." Halcyon said.
"Course not! Won't be making that offer if it were!" the shop keeper said, taking two large scoops out of the strawberry ice-cream container and squishing them into an ice-cream cone. "What about you Hal?"
"Blueberry, please." Halcyon said sheepishly. "And... We never caught your name...? Well, we always visit, but..."
"Name's Glacé." Glacé said, shaking Halcyon's hoof warmly then returning to take a big scoop out of the blueberry box.
"Talk about awkward." Blaze said, licking his ice-cream as they exited the shop.
"She's nice." Halcyon said simply, trotting alongside Blaze on the streets.
They walked on the sidewalks, window shopping the various stores lining the sides of the street. Blaze noticed Halcyon take a sudden interest in a fashion shop, and could do nothing but roll his eyes and follow her in.
The fashion shop gained no interest from him. All he did was pretend he enjoyed the experience, wondering through the stallion's section with fake enthusiasm. Maybe his acting was horrible, or he was just overdoing it- because he kind of attracted the attention of a few shop keepers, in which case Halcyon did what she always did- pretended she didn't know him.
"I'm going to go... Sit outside." Blaze said, pointing out the door and finally able to shake off the annoying shopkeepers. If only he had a royal guard badge to flash at them and could tell them to go away- not sure if that would count as public disruption, but it'll certainly take care of the problem.
Halcyon stayed indoors, slowly flipping through the clothes rack on purpose to annoy Blaze.
He let the breeze brush through his mane. Maybe he could go fetch a smoothie or something at that little stand over there.
He returned to the shop a few minutes later with a strawberry smoothie, to find Halcyon with a shopping bag full of clothes. He rolled his eyes yet again.
"Now can we go somewhere I would enjoy being?" he asked.
"As long as it's not the strip club." Halcyon shrugged.
"Wow. How very disappointing." Blaze said sarcastically, taking a long and loud slurp from the smoothie. "Wait, there's a strip club around here?"
"I don't see what the point of those places are anyway. We don't normally wear clothes anyway." Halcyon said.
"Indeed." Blaze sighed. "I'm going to go buy a jacket. Think I lost my old one."

Night time finally arrived. The stars rose above the tree tops, following the bright moon that lit up the darkness. The streets were slowly emptying out, only a few stores remained open. Most of the buildings that still had lights on were distant apartment blocks and pubs and bars.
The streets were frozen cold- it may be summer, but when night dawned it always became almost as cold as winter. The streets were dimly lit by the moon and the flickering street lights.
"Next time you should really restrain yourself from those drinking competitions." Blaze said, the door to one of the bars swinging open. Laughter and bright light poured out onto the streets for a brief moment, before the door closed and sealed all those things back in the confinements of the bar once again.
"I'mnotdrunk!" Halcyon blurted, leaning heavily on Blaze's shoulder and swinging an empty vodka bottle around in a hoof as they walked away and onto the streets.
"Sure you're not." Blaze muttered, helping her walk. Hell, she could barely stand up.
"Iadmit, thatlastbottlewasabittoomuch." Halcyon said, her speech slurred.
Suddenly her left hoof got caught on something, and she fell forwards. Her arm slipped from Blaze's shoulder, and he tried to catch her- but was a little too late.
She let out a surprised yelp and fell face first onto the stone walk way, the empty bottle shattering on the ground. One of the sharp pieces of glass sliced into her cheek and made a huge cut across her face. She groaned, tried to get up and only to fall back down again.
"Bucking hell..." Blaze muttered, picking her up off the ground. "Come on."
"Ow, ow." she mumbled as he slung her arm over his shoulder and lifted her up.
"We're going home." Blaze said.
"Butwhatabout-"
"We're going home." he repeated sternly, however not angrily.
"Ow..." Halcyon muttered again, wiping a small droplet of blood off her face.
A gentle breeze brushed against their skin, and for the first time Blaze noticed the sudden drop in temperature. Of course he didn't notice back then- he had his new jacket on. He felt Halcyon shaking from the stinging cold by his side, and sighed.
"Damnit Hal." he muttered, taking off his jacket and putting it around Halcyon. Her shivering ceased a little, but now Blaze was left out in the cold.
Simple, though. His horn glowed, and a small fire appeared in front of them.
Eventually they got home. Halcyon would be staying with Blaze for the time being- it made sense, considering she was completely drunk. It was a fifteen story apartment, and Blaze lived on the seventh floor.
The moment they got through the double doors leading to the main hall they were hit full in the face by the warmth. Blaze extinguished his flame, and felt Halcyon lurch to one side.
Then he heard the distinct gurgling of a vomiting mare. He took in a deep breath and held it.
Halcyon had thrown up in the main hall- but thankfully nopony was here. It would make a bad first impression- and his neighbors will probably laugh at him.
His horn glowed, and he cleaned up the mess. Then Halcyon started laughing, occasionally being interrupted by hiccups.
"Are you high or something?" Blaze raised an eyebrow, helping her get to the elevator.
"Wheeeee~~~!" Halcyon said, stumbling away from Blaze.
"I guess you are." he muttered.
Halcyon tripped over her own hoof this time, and fell backwards. Her head made a solid crack against the stone wall behind her.
"Damnit Hal-" Blaze rushed to her side. At first it seemed like she was crying, but as he got nearer it was clear that she was snickering.
"Ow, thathurt." she laughed, rubbing the back of her head and trying to get up. Somehow her hooves slipped on the floor, and she fell back down again. Still she laughed like a crazy mare.
"Come on Hal- get up-" Blaze lifted her up, then slung her over his back. She really needs to settle down, somehow.
So trying to restrain her and leave her on his back wasn't the best idea. The next thing he knew he had warm vomit trickling down his side. He ignored it and slammed the 'up' key of the elevator.
"Whoever wants us assassinated is gonna find us easy." he muttered as he looked back at the trail of vomit droplets.
Still Halcyon was giggling at pretty much nothing, with the occasional gurgle and hiccup.
Once they got into the apartment Halcyon went straight to the bathroom and started puking into the toilet. Blaze cleaned himself up, and knocked on the bathroom door.
"You okay?" he asked loudly over the gurgling.
"Haha *bleeeeeeh* I'mfine!"
Blaze sighed, and opened the door. Halcyon was on the floor, leaning on the toilet seat and throwing up into it. Unfortunately, quite a bit missed and ended up on the floor.
Blaze's horn glowed as he levitated the crap into the toilet and flushed them down.
"Been a bucking tiring day." he muttered to nopony in particular as Halcyon started throwing up again.
He walked towards the bathtub, half drifting to sleep. His horn glowed as he turned on the water, slowly filling up the tub.
"I'm gonna put on some hot water. You can take a bath and clean yourself up once you're done with that." he said, slowly walking out.
"Thanks." Halcyon said, and he stopped at the door. For a few moments nothing happened, and then he nodded and walked out.
He slumped down on the sofa, exhausted with the extremely long day. At least trying to survive in the woods was exciting. He picked up the remote and turned on the TV. Not much was going on, but there was a small part about their survival through the woods and the train crash. He could only hope media doesn't swarm them.
Eventually he heard the splashing in the other room stop. Halcyon must've turned off the tap.
He gave a gentle knock on the door, but there was no response.
"Hal?" he knocked again, louder this time. "Hal!" still nothing. "Damnit..." he muttered, opening the door- and of course, Halcyon had fallen asleep in a tub full of water. Good thing her head was above the surface- because drowning would be a very ironic death for her.
"Wake up Hal-" Blaze began, but stopped. Maybe it would be a bad idea to wake her up.
So he levitated some shampoo into her hair and started cleaning her mane. Once that was done, he carefully gave her a quick rinse and dried her off, careful not to wake her.

Halcyon woke up on a bed, Blaze next to her watching TV. She briefly remembered the events from earlier, but couldn't remember anything from the point where she thought she fell asleep in the tub. She just couldn't help it- she felt so dizzy. In fact, she still feels dizzy. That was only physically- mentally she felt terrible too. She could only imagine what she put Blaze through.
Blaze heard Halcyon snickering again, and sighed. He ignored her for the time being, then noticed the difference in her giggling. He looked down- and she wasn't smiling at all. She was curled up in a ball, and whimpering. There were tears sliding from her eyes.
"Hey- you okay?" he asked, laying a gentle hoof on her shoulder.
She burst out crying, and hugged Blaze's arm as tightly as she could.
"Whoa Hal- what's wrong?" he asked, giving her short squeeze and trying to meet her eyes- except, her eyes avoided his.
Halcyon was saying something, but Blaze couldn't tell because of all her sniffing and whimpering.
"Hey... Calm it down and tell me what happened." he said, giving her gentle strokes on her back.
She sniffed, trying to control the crying. Slowly she was able to suppress it, but still she was shivering.
"Please don't leave me!" she blurted out, hugging Blaze tightly and crying again.
"Wha-?"
"Please... I'm sorry..." she cried, hugging him as tightly as she could. "I've been so stupid."
"Hey, hey... Who said I was gonna leave you?" Blaze asked, giving her a tight squeeze. Still she refused to look him in the eye.
"I don't know... I was just acting all weird, and I got really really drunk... And you had to-"
"Don't worry Hal." Blaze said, placing a hoof on her mouth and shushing her. "I ain't leaving you- ever."
For a moment no one talked. The only noise came from the TV, and a few occasional sniffs from Halcyon.
"I'm sorry." she said, her voice barely audible. She snuggled up against Blaze, listening to the TV. "I... I just had a bad dream."
"Think telling me would make you feel better?" Blaze asked, rubbing her lightly on the shoulder.
Halcyon thought about it for a moment.
"It's okay if you don't want to." Blaze said, changing the TV channel.
Halcyon nodded lightly, closing her eyes as she felt a little sleepy. The air conditioner made everything inside warm and cosy even though it was near freezing outside.
"I... I guess I just couldn't stop thinking about what-ifs." she said finally, shaking her head slowly to herself. "What if something happened. I'm not sure what I'll do if we for some reason left each other. A month ago I would've said that it wouldn't matter, but-"
"You're over thinking everything, Hal." Blaze said, giving her a reassuring smile. "When things happen, they happen. We can't do anything about that." he said, giving her a kiss on the forehead.
Halcyon snuggled deeper under the sheets, sighing. She wiped away a tear from the corner of her eye- slowly she started feeling stupid. Why did she ever doubt that? After all, Blaze did come back for her in the woods even after she was pretty much dead. He almost died too.
"I suppose it's easier to always overlook the positives and only see the negatives. I've been trapped way too many times now- I should've known better." she said, yawning loudly. "Sorry."
"Stop apologizing all the time. I start feeling like I've done something wrong." Blaze said, a light smile on his face.
"S- I mean, ok." they shared a laugh, and Halcyon threw her arms around Blaze and almost squeezed the life out of him. "Oh, how I love you."

Nightshade was peacefully asleep when her alarm clock went off. Her immediate response was to teleport to her saddle bag, whip out an EMP knife, and throw it across the room. The knife lodged itself into the LED clock's screen, denting it inwards. Then the EMP went off, taking out the clock with a wave of blue sparks. Unfortunately, the clock wasn't the only thing damaged.
An alarm went off, indicating damage had been done to the secret base's systems.
"Whoops..." Nightshade yawned- she must've taken out the power supply to quadrant 3's defense systems again. She lived in an underwater base of operations, called the Atlantis and located at the bottom of the Atlantic ocean. And this wasn't the first time she took down several turrets on her own before. By accident.
"Captain..." Second Lieutenant Bluefyre sighed, knocking on Nightshade's door. "Did you take the sleeping pills the doctor assigned to you?"
"No." Nightshade said, yawning again and opening her dresser locker as the yelling of technicians and mechanics filled the air outside.
"Er... Might I ask why not, ma'am?" Bluefyre raised an eyebrow.
"I told him I wanted orange flavored pills. The ones he gave me tasted terrible. They tasted like medicine." Nightshade said, shrugging on her armor.
"....You're meant to swallow them with a gulp of water, ma'am." Bluefyre said. "And they are medicine."
"I know that." Nightshade said, her eyes only half open. "But they still tasted horrible."
"I'll see what I can do about that then." Bluefyre sighed, stepping aside as Nightshade left her room and walked into the busy corridors of Atlanta. They weren't busy until she woke up.
"And my coffee?" Nightshade yawned again.
"Already being made in the command center." Bluefyre said, following Nightshade by her side.
"Ah, good. That cheers me up." Nightshade said. "Second Lieutenant, you are now First Lieutenant."
"Uh... Ma'am?" Bluefyre frowned, an uncertain look on her face.
"You got promoted." Nightshade said as if it were nothing.
"For what reason, ma'am?"
"How about 'Excellence in Service'? Sounds good to me." Nightshade shrugged.
Bluefyre was about to say something, but decided not to.
"Captain." a few officers saluted as Nightshade dreamily walked into the command center. It was as if she just woke up- well, she kinda did.
"What's the matter this time?" she asked.
"It would appear that power to quadrant 3's defense systems have been cut off again. If this keeps up, we're gonna have to hire new technicians." a pony with a clipboard said.
"Hmmm. Wonder what could've caused that." Bluefyre said, heavy with sarcasm. Nightshade ignored her.
"Just fix the problem. But what else?" Nightshade asked.
"We intercepted a letter with a date and time- the Princess will be at this year's Best Young Flier's competition again in Cloudsdale. And, it would seem this is an assassination plan." the pony said, handing Nightshade a printed copy.
Nightshade frowned at the letter. Blaze and Halcyon were off duty for the time being, meaning they'll need new bodyguards for the Princess- but there was no pony Nightshade could think of as of yet. She could be there personally, which she was much too lazy to do if she were honest with herself. But she'll have to be there anyway.
"I want Secret Service in on this immediately. Let them hide in the crowd. I know we don't have many pegasi members, but get everypony we have." she sighed. She had no choice about this. "Notify Blaze and Halcyon immediately. I want them by the Princess's side." she put down the letter, walking up to the large glass wall at the front of the command center. She stared into the darkness of the bottom of the Atlantic- not even sea life could be spotted here. "As for me- I'll be there too."
"But wouldn't having all those agents and the royal bodyguards there be enough?" the pony asked.
"The letter is way too obvious. It's as if it were left for us- and maybe it was." Nightshade shook her head, picking up the letter again. She tore it in two. "Something tells me they're after the guards, not the Princess."

Author's Note

Sorry that this story is coming along pretty darn slow-_- but it's still going! I know it isn't doing particularly well, but it's been quite enjoyable to write. So won't stop for the time being. You guys probably already forgot about this fic didn't you -.-

Chapter 6: Turn of Events

Blaze and Halcyon were in a waiting room, its plain walls reflecting their glum mood as they clunked around in full armor.

"Oh great. A few days off, and we're back in straight after almost dying. Nightshade, you bastard." Blaze muttered.

"Hey- the captain must have her reasons." Halcyon nudged him in his full body armor, her own clinking loudly as she shuffled. "By the sounds of it it's pretty big too."

"Yeah, well... No bigger than my-" Halcyon hit him before he could finish. "What? I know you can testify to tha- OW!"

"Stop with the inappropriate jokes." She said.

"Oh come on, I know you love me as a whole." Blaze said, giving her a quick squeeze.

Halcyon just rolled her eyes and sighed. But then nodded. "Yeah. But it gets annoying sometimes."

They heard a light knock on the waiting room door, and immediately snapped up straight and raised their heads up high.

"Alright lads." Nightshade said, shoving the door open and striding in.

"Captain." The two guards saluted. Then Blaze relaxed, and took a step forward. "Wasn't expecting you ma'am." He said.

"Don't suppose." Nightshade shrugged. That tends to happen to her- being able to teleport, and all. "You two ready?"

"Yes ma'am. Spells have been cast." Halcyon said articulately. They had to cast spells on each other so they could walk on clouds. They were already in(on?) Cloudsdale, the concrete structure which was perched on the edge of the city's airport landing strips specifically placed so earth ponies and unicorns could receive spell treatment so they could stand on the clouds.

"We're all set for deployment, again." Blaze's voice lowered significantly for the last word.

"Yeah, about that." Nightshade said. "Listen, I know you two want to spend more time together- but I hope you know what's important. It's important enough for me to completely ignore the fact that you-" she nodded at Blaze. "-just insulted a superior officer by calling her a 'bastard' a few seconds earlier." She said, then chuckled at the uncomfortable look on Blaze's face.

"Sorry captain- he was just-"

"Oh don't worry officer." Nightshade laughed, and patted a worried Halcyon on the shoulder. "You can say whatever you want, but just don't let my bat ears pick em up." She winked, then laughed again at Halcyon's even more worried expression.

"Sorry ma'am." Blaze said sheepishly, which was the least he could do in this situation.

"Haha! Just don't tell anyone else." Nightshade said, putting on a hysterical face as she strode out of the waiting room. "You two better get ready now. And if you're busy with something else, don't let me hear it!" She said, and with that closed the door.

Blaze and Hal stood silently, staring at the closed door.

"Wait, what?" Blaze frowned.

Halcyon face-hoofed, and sighed. "Gah... Just get ready." She said, her face almost as red as Blaze's flames as she helped him put on a few remaining pieces of armor which were in rather awkward places(and would've been even more so if they weren't a couple).

Nightshade's hysterical mood immediately dispersed as she entered the hallway. That had to be the dumbest act she had to put on- but it was always fun to make the lower ranks feel uncomfortable.

"How come when I said something behind your back and got caught, you made me wash two months worth of the entire ATLANTA HQ's dishes?" Bluefyre moaned a complaint as she joined Nightshade down the hallway.

"Because I was having a bad day." Nightshade said simply. "That's why ponies avoid me on bad days. Too bad I can teleport- no pony's running anywhere." She said, which was followed by silence as they trotted down the hallway.

She raised an eyebrow, and looked behind her at Bluefyre. Without giving so much as a warning, she grabbed her on the shoulder and teleported them to the Best Young Fliers' stadium.

"That was a joke. You were meant to at least chuckle at it. Ha-ha-ha." She said, continuing on walking down a cloud-laden hallway with Bluefyre, both ignoring the change in scenery. Traveling as Nightshade's assistant got Bluefyre used to her unnatural teleportation ability.

"Sorry ma'am. You just seem so... Serious, all of a sudden." Bluefyre said. "Didn't want to risk another two months."

"Understandable, officer." Nightshade sighed.

Bluefyre raised an eyebrow. "You okay ma'am?"

"Yeah." Nightshade said, contradicting everything she's done so far. "Just don't feel that good about the intercepted letter."

"It's a trap, and we both know it." Bluefyre said.

"And yet we're walking straight into it." Nightshade said, shoving open a double door.

"Yeah, but it's like walking onto a bear trap with armored boots and priers. And a blowtorch." Bluefyre noted, and followed. After all, they were throwing everything they had at this one potential assassination.

"Without knowing how strong or big the bear trap is." Nightshade retaliated. "Maybe it even has lasers, or something."

"Now that's just stupi- I mean-" Bluefyre stuttered as she tried to find the right words.

"Lucky save there soldier, you just avoided four months worth of dish-washing duty for the whole of ATLANTA." Nightshade said.

"I try my best."

"And you realize I could've made you do it anyways just for fun."

"That I do."

"Lucky you then." Nightshade said, shoving open a double door. They walked out onto a platform, directly opposite to where the Princess would be when the competition starts. She cast a gaze over the rings of seats, surrounding the obstacle course below. "I want ponies here especially. It's a direct shot to the Princess. And secure all other platforms like this."

"As usual." Bluefyre sighed, jotting down some notes on a clip board.

"And that sniper I asked you to contract?" Nightshade tilted her head just enough so Bluefyre was within her line of sight.

Bluefyre tensed. Not at her superior's terrifying reptilian eyes but at the question. "I have used the military funds to hire her." She said, her words strained.

"Listen, I know you two had a past together. But don't let that get in the way of the job. Ignore her if you have to." Nightshade said, turning back away from the platform and heading the way she came.

"Yeah, we have a past alright." Bluefyre muttered. It was back in military academy, when she mysteriously disappeared- only to be the ambusher of Bluefyre's entire squad of guards who were escorting a convoy later on. They all went to hospital with serious injuries- close enough to death to mentally scar them and with their mission failed. Bluefyre included.

"I don't like her much either. She already cost the military a few thousand dollars. But she's the best and she knows it. We know it." Nightshade sighed, walking down the hallway they had come. "How much pay again?"

"Not much, since there wasn't the promise of a kill. It was only a threat after all, so she only asked for five hundred bits. But once targets start appearing, each target killed will be an extra hundred- every target wanted captured an extra two hundred." Bluefyre said.

"Good enough. Hopefully we don't get any double-crossing. I'll keep an eye on her in case she tries anything funny." Nightshade said, a dark expression flashing across her face as her hoof clearly made an unconscious twitching movement to the rows of throwing knives in the pouches on her belt.

"When I said 'don't let me hear it', I really didn't mean get back to whatever the hell you were doing." Nightshade said sternly, Bluefyre snickering and trying to cover it behind her as they stood at the open doorway.

Blaze and Halcyon were frozen in place the moment Nightshade had entered, like deer who had been spotlighted. The only way to describe the situation was that Halcyon was riding Blaze, and in a much explicit manner- but thank Celestia they weren't actually doing it- yet.

"Piece of advice- get a room that has a functioning lock." Bluefyre said, noticing the door which didn't have any sort of locking mechanism whatsoever. It was held in place by a spring device which kept the door closed.

"Boy, I sure hope the Princess never catches you two." Nightshade face-hoofed, turning away as Halcyon got off Blaze, both of their faces red as the reddest AppleSoft all of Equestria and giving off sheepish expressions. "I just came to warn you two the Princesses have departed Canterlot. It is advised you be stationed at the welcoming party." She checked her watch. "The convoy should arrive in about ten minutes, so you don't have long to finish off." That made the two blush even harder.

Nightshade turned to leave, but had to drop in one last sentence before doing so.

"Also if you're into the sort of stuff, there are chains in the maintenance shed."

"Chai...? Oh. OH." Halcyon looked away, covering her face while Blaze stood awkwardly to one side as Nightshade and Bluefyre walked away. They could swear they heard the two laughing their heads off once they were out of sight, which didn't make matters any better.

At least the embarrassment wasn't brought up again as the stadium started filling up with ponies, Blaze and Halcyon stationed at the entrance by the road where the Princess would be arriving. They had their usual royal guard faces on, completely ignoring the fillies and colts walking by them as their teachers led them into the stadium. No matter what, they had to keep a straight face; and not even blush at that. They're just hoping Nightshade or Bluefyre(or both) don't come back to joke about... Intimate things.

They had been equipped with much more modern weapons. Standard issue pistols were strapped to their belts, in their fore hooves and neatly tucked to one side were long assault carbines with crafted wooden handles to give them a more traditional look. In reality it was just a high power carbine. Of course they were issued with melee weapons, their original weapons locked away. Those were for real combat, but these crappy and poorly maintained daggers- these were just for show. And the two couldn't help but think that the projectile weapons were too, especially the carbines.

"Blaze and Halcyon." A light blue mare with a modern looking dark mane stood to one side, letting the line behind her pass as her eyes darted between the two guards.
Sunglasses blocked her eyes from view, but as she tilted her head to one side Blaze caught sight of a light cerulean iris.

Blaze and Halcyon were surprised at the direct mentioning of their names. They didn't even know who this mare was! So how did she know them?

They decided to keep standing still until she could reveal more about herself, or go away.

Halcyon had a split second to analyze the mare. While she did seem to have a short mane front on, her hair drifted to shoulder length behind her and around her sides. Still cleanly cut, and quite civilized too; Halcyon noted. She was wearing some sort of white suit, and through the relatively thin fabric Halcyon swore she could see traces of armor underneath. But she later concluded it was due to the folds of the odd fabric. The suit also covered her cutie mark.

She had dog tags chained to her neck though.

"State your business..." Blaze stepped forward, halting the stranger. He read the dog tags dangling over her chest. "...Snapshot."

"Hey, just a news reporter." Snapshot smirked. "Got my equipment and stuff." She held up a suitcase. This one was certainly suspicious, provoking stationary guards.

Halcyon eyed her for a second, taking into special account the suitcase. She turned and yelled out.

"Hey! Storm! Can ya check this dear little news reporter's suitcase? Just give it a quick eye-through. I gotta receive the Princess."

"Copy, royal bodyguard." A royal guard sighed, trotting over and saying the last two words in a sarcastic manner.

"That's MISS royal bodyguard to you." Halcyon whinnied, head held high as Snapshot went to hand the suitcase to Storm.

Storm gave it a quick check. Just a disassembled camera, some pad, and pens. He closed the case and gave it back to Snapshot, nodding to Halcyon and Blaze who stepped aside and made a little more room for the earth pony.

"See ya then. Stand tall, or else it ain't gonna look good on the front covers." Snapshot waved a hoof as she walked past, grinning.

"Odd." Halcyon muttered under her breath. Still doesn't explain how she knew their names- but that was minor right now, as they could spot the Princess's convoy in the distance.

Per procedure, she and Blaze marched forward and stood solemnly at the crossroad, waiting for the cars to turn the corner; their magic energy powered engines slowing in near silence as they approached.

Then the armored SUVs came to a complete halt, their golden and white paint jobs gleaming under the midday sun. Thank goodness cooling was one of Rarity's focuses for the bodyguards' armor, or else they'd be cooking inside the metal shells.

By now everyone had already gone inside the stadium, the entire place bustling with activity. They could hear it from out here quite clearly, and there was no one on the streets but the royal guards standing watch in their golden armor.

"Glad to see you finally making it, Princess." Blaze gave a light bow, opening the SUV's side door while Halcyon took the other.

"Oh, spare the formalities you two." Celestia let a bit of her tongue show as she looked around. "Nopony's watching."

Halcyon and Blaze gave each other raised eyebrows, but said nothing.

"Sister, you could've at least spared the glowering heat for us ponies. Perhaps a bit of a less radiating and intense sunshine would be nice." Luna said, a black cap on her head with some sort of games logo woven onto it. Green letters 'MW3' were scrawled across the bottom of the icon.

"It's for the cameras. Lense flare~~" Celestia sang. "And take that cap off."

"Not until you lower the sunshine and heat levels."

"Why don't you ask head of weather control?"

"Because you're BIGGER than the head of weather control." Luna growled, Blaze and Halcyon giving each other shrugs as they fell in behind. They heard the convoy drive away behind them as they entered the stadium.

The usual proceeded. The Princesses' welcoming ceremony, with Blaze and Halcyon standing guard either side(Blaze taking Celestia's right while Halcyon took Luna's left) of the two royals. Admittedly, Celestia's decision to turn up the sun's brightness levels was taking a slight toll on the two bodyguards. They had to be on high alert with the threats issued the other week, and the heat wasn't helping a single bit. And neither was their code to stand absolutely still, unless to inspect suspicious elements. Their eyes were constantly darting from reflections to camera flashes, on watch for any sign of a reflection that might have come off a scope.

Then the bullet came zipping across the stadium, completely out of nowhere.

All the two guards heard was a loud crack as the bullet impacted a mere centimeter above Celestia's forehead and hit her crown. It came flying off, the bullet bouncing elsewhere off the magically enhanced crown without so much as leaving a scratch.

Then the loud bang followed up with the super sonic bullet, Blaze and Halcyon only having a split second to tackle the two princesses to hide behind the balcony edge.

"SNIPER!!" Blaze yelled out the obvious, the royal guards all around him running in all directions and arranging extraction for the royals.

"Was that our sniper!?" Halcyon yelled out, covering Princess Luna's head as she ducked down behind cover. Another bullet hit their cover, sending a small cascade of debris raining down on them.

"Not the one we hired." A voice said after a bright flash and pop as Nightshade teleported to the stand. "Princess! Are you alright?"

"I am fine..." Celestia said, looking a bit shaken. If that bullet had been aimed just a little lower...

Halcyon noticed something about Nightshade... Her voice sounded a little off. And was she just a little bit taller than she usually was? Or was it due to the boots... But did she look... Older? Perhaps the barest hints of grey streaks in her mane were just an illusion caused by the sun...

"That's all I needed to hear. You two! Go get that bloody sniper. I've got the Princesses covered." Nightshade growled, waving the two ponies on.

It was a highly objectionable order, as Blaze and Halcyon were meant to guard the Princesses. But an order none the less, and even less questions asked when the Princesses agreed.

"Go on you two. We'll be fine." Luna nodded.

Blaze and Halcyon looked at each other, then nodded and swiftly moved off.

The stadium was filled to the brim with chaos now. Ponies were screaming, fleeing the other side of the stadium and away from the gun shots.

"I didn't expect that to work." Nightshade said, then with a bright flash a seemingly younger version of herself teleported to the scene.

"But you've seen it work." The younger Nightshade said. "Also, the sniper's dead meat. Our sniper spotted him before I did, heh. Starting to like her."

"I also remember myself saying this." The older nodded. "Commence the decoy." She then spoke into a mic in her ear.

"If we may continue." The younger gestured for the two princesses to leave out the back of the stadium.

"Good work everypony. That was still quite a scare for me though." Celestia laughed, trotting towards the waiting SUVs as the older Nightshade teleported away.

So far, all had gone according to plan.

Author's Note

No this isn't going to turn into a clop fic.