To Guard Equestria

by BleepBloop2

Chapter 5

It wasn’t long before I was in a sort of trance, staring into the flames. I must have nodded off, because next I know the moon is going down. I walked down the mountain in the first light of the sun, and made pretty good time without all the landslides and ponies slowing me down.

I was in Ponyville two, two and a half hours after moonset. I walked straight to Twilight’s library and knocked on the door. I prayed to whatever gods there are that she hadn’t pulled an allnighter, and knew it was foolish. Even omnipotence can only go so far.

She opened the door with a glare and a growled, “What?” I remembered teaching her to growl like that. It was still pretty high pitched to me, but for a pony it was damn good. I smiled as she went from anger to surprise to happiness at around ninety nine percent of the speed of light. I stumbled then, feeling a little dizzy, because I don’t know the speed of light, but there it was, in the back of my head. Three hundred million metres per second. I filed that away under ‘more information for Twilight and Luna’ and returned the hug I was now getting.

Twilight let me go, and I’m pretty sure she was about to shout at me for worrying her, but she didn’t get the chance. A dark purple blur sped over her head and hit me in the chest. I fell away from the impact and rolled when I hit the ground. I was kneeling, crossbow drawn and loaded, before the thing that hit me had stopped tumbling.

It was Luna. The little alicorn had just tackled me. And she had been going fast enough that, even after she hit me, she rolled a good ten feet. I unloaded my crossbow and put it up before going over and helping her to her hooves. She didn’t say anything as we walked into the library.

What I saw when I entered the library was enough to make me nervous. Twilight and the other Elements were all looking at me. And they were smiling. Not big, happy grins, but little smiles that said ‘I know something you don’t know’. Rarity even winked at me.

Luna was doing a passable imitation of Fluttershy, staring down at her hooves and trying to ignore the world. I considered asking what was wrong, but I really didn’t care, so I decided just to give my report.

“The dragon’s gone,” I said. Luna looked up at me, and the others all flinched, when I spoke. The weird echoey thing was still there. “He teleported somewhere, don’t know where. He took his hoard with him.”

Twilight took a step towards me. “Michael, what happened to your voice?”

I let out a weary sigh. Even that came out odd. “I don’t know, Twi. I really don’t.” I sat down, leaning against a bookshelf. I could still hear something. I could still see things. It was like two images, one on top of the other, with one being semi-transparent, if that makes any sense. I could see Twilight and the rest, but I could also see something else, but only just. There was still music.

Twilight nuzzled against me, and ran my fingers through her mane. I had called her ‘Twi’, which I rarely did. I hadn’t even noticed at the time. It was piano music, I noticed. I found my fingers moving, and I was pretty sure if you put me in front of a piano I could play it. Another thing the dragon gave me.

Luna was still staring at me. The others had gone into a sort of huddle. “Where are the rest of the guards?” I asked her.

She frowned. I don’t know if it was because of the weird voice or if she wanted me to use her title. Probably both.

“They went back to Canterlot,” Twilight answered. She had lain down next to me, legs tucked under her, head leaning on my knee. “Luna wanted to wait here, to see if you would come back later. She went into the cave while you were talking to the dragon, and found it empty.”

Huh. I guess when I felt that lurching feeling, I left the cave. Or maybe it was something the dragon did to make sure we weren’t disturbed. Twilight and Luna both levitated some parchment and quills over, and got ready to take notes. I’d been around both of them enough to know how they got when they found something interesting.

“Tell us everything, Michael,” Luna ordered. She didn’t order often, she didn’t really have to, so when she did I knew I didn’t have a chance of getting out of it. Which meant I really would be telling her everything, every thought and sensation. But, really, I wasn’t going to complain. I was as worried about what had been done to me as she was.

I told them about the deal, about my question, what Lexavarone did to answer it. Twilight wanted to know what Lexavarone had asked, but Luna managed to keep her on topic. It was a pretty short explanation, even with all the questions they asked I couldn’t answer. They were too used to thinking about magic as a unicorn-only thing, and kept asking about horn movements and hoof positions. Which a dragon has neither of.

All told, with the repeated questioning to wring every last detail from me, it took maybe an hour. Afterwards, Luna was looking over the notes she and Twilight had taken, Twilight having handed her notes over when she realised just how out of her depths she was. Twilights cool like that.

Luna flicked through the sheets of parchment, muttering to herself. Mostly, it consisted of her going, “yes, yes, and if that, with that, could cause the same effect as Pale Horn’s Existential Flow, but what about…” and then technobabble.

When she finally put down her notes, she looked me straight in the eye and said, “I have absolutely no idea what the dragon did to you.”

I want to say I was surprised, but I wasn’t. She had sounded more and more desperate as time went on, searching for a link that just wasn’t there. I wasn’t too bothered by it. The music was okay, and the rest I could deal with. Though I could feel a ‘but’ coming soon.

“However,” Luna began. Close enough. “There is almost definitely a mental component to it.”

Twilight, and the others now that they had finished their hour long huddle, were confused by that. Given the rule was technically not in place any more, it wasn’t that surprising, even for Twilight.

“When Luna was first in power, there was a rule that any guards that underwent any mental tampering were forced to take a leave of absence for, I think, two months?” I got a nod from Luna, and continued. “Yeah, two months. They’re told to spend time with close family and friends to see if they’ve changed.”

“Seeing a therapist is also recommended,” Luna added. “Now, Captain, give me your sword.”

I snorted. I doubt a pony therapist could do me any good. “Swords not Guard issue; neither is the armour. I own both personally.” She wasn’t happy with that, but didn’t argue. Good. She can have my sword when she pries it from my cold, dead hands. Not an impossibility, considering her lifespan.

“Very well.” Yup, definitely not happy. “I, Princess Luna, Lady of the Night and Warden of the Moon, do hereby grant thee, Captain Michael, reprieve from duty for two lunar cycles. Report to me, personally, in Canterlot after that, Captain.”

I nodded. “Make Quick Cut the acting Captain, not Night Wind or Ironshod,” I said, thinking. “He’s smarter and they know it, they’ll be happy to listen to him. Let him name his acting Lieutenant, he’ll know those under him better than either of us.” What else was there? Pay and reviews were done recently, so he won’t have to worry about that. Drills could go on as planned. Nothing big was going down in the next couple months, at least not for the Night Guard. It was business as usual, for us.

“Are you quite done telling me how to do my job?” Luna asked.

“Yeah, that seems to be everything. Wait, actually. One more thing.” I grabbed a piece of parchment from the bottom of the stack of notes and tore a strip from the bottom. Using Twilight’s quill, I wrote a quick note. Folding it twice, a drip of wax from a candle and my thumb served as a seal. “Give this to Shining Armour.”

Luna was stuck between being indignant at being used as a messenger, and curious at what I was sending Twilight’s brother of all ponies, so I managed to get her to take the letter without complaint. I thanked her for taking it, which got a small smile.

“Two months, Michael,” was all she said before a deep blue light blinded me. When my vision cleared, she was gone. I stared at where Luna had been for a while, thinking. Luna was definitely going to tell her sister about what happened to me, and while there was technically nothing she could do, being the sole ruler for a millenium gives you a lot of leverage. I wouldn’t put it past Celestia to use it to get me demoted. I don’t know that I’d mind that, really, if I thought I would be assigned to guard Twilight again, but the Princesses opinion on that has been made very clear.

Of course, she wouldn’t have me removed from the guard completely. I’m not the most popular person, but I did get a five percent drop in crime rate in three months. I would just have to hope thats enough. I don’t know what I’d do outside the guard. Makes me glad Twilight didn’t call my bluff back when she moved here.

“So, Michael, were will you be staying?”

I jerked around to see Twilight’s friends looking at me. Rarity had spoken, her accent was almost as distinctive as Applejack’s. Twilight and I both answered at the same time.

“Here.” She looked at me, giggled and winked. I smiled back. We hadn’t done this in years.

“Hey, whats so funny?” Pinkie Pie asked.

Again, we answered at the same time. “Nothing.” Twilight was giggling harder now, and I could feel laughter deep in my chest, waiting to burst out.

Rainbow Dash was giggling as well. I guess with my voice it sounded like three people are talking instead of two, which probably added to it. Applejack was grinning, and if Fluttershy came out from behind her mane I’m pretty sure she’d have a smile as well.

“C’mon guys, tell me the joke!” Pinkie Pie was getting desperate, it seemed.

“What joke?” we asked. Rainbow Dash joined in, which was too much for Twilight. She broke down in giggles, which set Rainbow Dash off, which led to a chain reaction and soon everypony was laughing. I cracked a smile, which seemed to amaze Pinkie Pie. I don’t know why. I mean, I don’t go that long between smiles.

“Now, Michael, really,” Rarity said, when she had recovered from her bout of laughter, “where will you be staying?” Twilight was talking to Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash. Applejack left, probably to get back to work if Twilight’s letters had described her accurately.

I frowned. “Here,” I said, waving around the inside of the library. “Why?”

“Where are you going to sleep? There are only two bedrooms in here that I’m aware of, and Twilight and Spike make use of those.”

“I need an hour or two of sleep a day,” I said. She tilted her head to one side and gave me a blank look. “I sleep during the day, Rarity. And I can crash just about anywhere.”

“What’s that about crashing?” Rainbow Dash asked, hovering over.

“Rarity here was just wondering about sleeping arrangements,” I explained.

“Oh really? What’s got ya so curious, Rares?” Rainbow Dash asked. “You wanting him to stay with you?”

“What? No, I was merely curious. Nothing more.” Of course, she ruined her denial by blushing. It wasn’t much, but when you’re as white as she is even that stands out. Rainbow Dash saw the blush, and was on that like a shot. I don’t think Rarity managed a full sentence in five minutes with all the stammering she did.

Course, I was busy cursing xenophilliac ponies. They’re more annoying than the downright hostile ones. The hostile ones usually only try something once, maybe twice if they aren’t very smart. On the other hand, ponies like Rarity generally have a hard time taking no for an answer. They seem to think if they persevere enough, I’ll break down and confess undying love or something ridiculous. Though I did actually see that happen once, in a Canterlot marketplace, so they might not be that stupid. Either way, it was attention I didn’t want.

“What about clothing?” Rarity asked. Rainbow Dash was leaving, Pinkie Pie going with her. I heard her mention a party, followed closely by my name. I did not like the sound of that.

“What about it?” I asked, not really paying attention. Twilight and Fluttershy were talking softly about something, I think I heard the word mammal mentioned. It was just us four now.

“What about- I mean, what will you be wearing? You can hardly wear your armour for two months,” Rarity said, like she was talking to a foal. “Oh, you should let me design some things for you!” She acted like the idea had only just occurred to her. “I already have some ideas that I think will turn out simply fabulous!”

“Pass.” The matter closed, I turned to browse the bookshelves. It had been a month or two since I’d read anything other than reports. Surprisingly, not needing to sleep does not give you a great deal of free time when you work the night shift and the guy on the day shift is only semi-competent.

“I was thinking red, and perhaps gold,” Rarity continued, her mouth working faster than her ears, “with some, wait, ‘pass’? What do you mean, ‘pass’?”

Without looking away from the shelves, I said, “I’ve asked to have some of my stuff sent from Canterlot. So, either I can have clothes I like, made by someone who knows what they’re doing, or I can take what you make for me. Not a hard choice.” She didn’t say anything, but I heard the door open and close.

I’m pretty sure Twilight mentioned she had a copy of Celestial Mechanics here. I needed to reread that, because I kept forgetting how the sun works. “Hey, Spike.”

“Yeah, boss?” came a voice from upstairs. “What d’ya need?”

“Celestial Mechanics. Twilight mentioned having a copy.”

“Facing away from the door, on your right. Below the window, third shelf up from the floor, fourth book from the left. ‘bout as thick as my claw is wide, same colour as your hair.” Spike might be ten, but there is a reason Celestia chose him, and it’s not the fact he’s damn near invulnerable. I found the book exactly where he said and pretty much as he described. I settled down against a wall to read. Instead, I remembered why I’d never managed to get through this book before. It was incredibly, amazingly dense with magical jargon. I readied myself for a slog, but changed my mind. I would do better tonight, with less distractions. I closed the book and tilted my head back, thinking.

Shining Armour should be here tomorrow, and hopefully he’d bring what I asked him to. While he was here, I could fill him in on all the little things he’d need to know about while I wasn’t there that Quick Cut just didn’t have clearance to handle. Nothing exciting, sadly. Just budget stuff, but it needed done. But it would force him to visit his sister and give her the news early.

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. Twilight managed to convince Pinkie that throwing me a party would be a bad idea. I read the first couple chapters of Celestial Mechanics and ran some errands with Spike. The townsfolk seemed to be used to him, though I got a few odd looks. Not as many as the other times I’d been through here though. Even got the odd wave, not that I recognised the pony doing the waving. Spike was nice enough to help me put a name to a face.

The next morning, I woke to the sound of someone screaming my name. I rolled off the couch and had the crossbow drawn before I realised it was Pinkie Pie.

“Michael, come quick, Zecora’s here! You have to make her leave!”

It takes me a few seconds to go from asleep to awake, because when you sleep as little as I do every second counts, so it took me a little bit to actually understand what she was saying. Even then, all I could manage to say was, “What?”

“Zecora! Look, just come to Sugarcube Corner, I’ll explain there. Bring Twilight!” Then she threw a smoke bomb and left through the window. I think she forgot that I was tall enough to see over the smoke cloud. Or maybe she just hadn’t made any to deal with me.

A glance at the sky told me it was around an hour after dawn. Twilight fell asleep at her desk a few hours after moonrise, which meant she had had eight hours sleep. I went upstairs to wake her and Spike.

I shook Twilight’s shoulder. “Wake up, Pinkie Pie wants to talk to you.” She murmured a little bit and blinked drowsily.

“Wha’ times it?” she asked, rubbed at her eyes with the side of her hoof.

“‘Bout an hour after dawn. Pinkie Pie said to meet her at Sugarcube Corner. Something about a ‘Zecora’. What’s the plan?”

She blinked a few more times as her brain sped up to its usual levels. “We’ll go meet Pinkie. Is Spike up?”

“Not yet.” I went to Spike’s room, opened the door and stood just outside it. “Spike! Get up.” He grumbled, but was out of bed. “Don’t get lax,” I warned him. “You’re still on duty here.” That got me a dirty look, but I let it go. Nothing I could do without alerting Twilight.

The three of us were just outside Sugarcube Corner when Pinkie Pie somehow managed to pull all of us inside. By herself. I took a deep breath and ignored her most recent violation of physics.

As soon as we were inside the shop - the dark, full to bursting shop - Pinkie Pie started on about how Zecora was evil. I stopped listening when she started singing. Twilight asked just what Zecora had done that was evil, and got the expected answer of ‘be different’. Twilight just looked from the assembled ponies, to Spike and I, back to the ponies, back to us. They started looking suitably sheepish. Except Pinkie Pie. She was sure Zecora was ‘an evil enchantress’.

I looked at Twilight and mouthed ‘I got this’. She nodded, and I left. I saw a filly follow me out the sweet shop, but figured it wouldn’t hurt to let her come along. If she was evil, she wasn’t a unicorn, so I could probably keep her safe. And if she wasn’t, showing she wouldn’t hurt the little ones would make the so-called grown ups less afraid of her.

I stopped out of sword range of Zecora. She was the same size as a pony, and fur peaking between the hem of her cloak and her hooves was stripped black and white. A zebra. Don’t get many of those in Equestria. “Miss Zecora, I presume?”

“I am the one of which you speak,” she confirmed. “Though, I ask, why is it I you seek?”

“Just wondering if I can help. And so this filly.” I heard a gasp from behind me, and turned to see her looking out from a hedge.

“How did you know I was here?” she asked. She was a pale yellowish earth pony with a light red mane. She was wearing a red bow that was about the size of her head. Had I seen her somewhere before?

I ignored the fillies question. “Come here and introduce yourself,” I told her. She walked up to the zebra and put out a forehoof.

“Hi! My name’s Apple Bloom!”

Apple Bloom gave Zecora a gigawatt smile - a wave of dizziness washed over me as I suddenly knew what a gigawatt, and a whole lot of other stuff, was. It was weird as hell. One second, I’m wondering what a gigawatt is, and then I know its a thousand megawatts. Which is a thousand kilowatts, which is a thousand watts. It stopped there, thankfully, as I stumbled from just knowing those few things. Anymore and I probably would have fallen over.

When I recovered, Zecora and Apple Bloom were looking at me with what I think was worry.

“You alright, mister?” Apple Bloom asked me.

I nodded. “Anything you need help with?” I asked Zecora.

Turns out Zecora was just trying to buy some food. She lived in the Everfree, and could grow some on her own, but she hadn’t been there long, so things hadn’t had a chance to grow yet, and only an idiot would forage in the forest. I showed her around the market and left the appropriate number of bits for what she took, based on what I paid.

Zecora never once asked what I was. Who I was yes, but never what. That, combined with her sarcastic sense of humour, meant I actually enjoyed showing her around. Apple Bloom was helpful, given I’d spent a total of maybe eight hours outside the library while in Ponyville. I’d run a couple errands, but not enough to remember where every store was, and Zecora needed some pretty odd stuff, so we went to most of them.

We talked a bit about her home country of Zhevrahan. Over an ocean and a fair bit to the south, it was oddly like the continent zebra’s come from Back There. Or maybe not; the planets were of a similar size, after all. Though I will say Zhevrahan sounded nicer. She also spoke a bit about herself. An alchemist, she came to the Everfree to research the properties of the plants there. Apple Bloom spoke for a good fifteen minutes nonstop about Ponyville, which meant I could keep quiet, for the most part. Zecora seemed to get that I didn’t want to talk about it.

Last stop on the list was Sugarcube Corner. Zecora wanted to be introduced to the townsponies and try and put this behind them. She wanted to do it first, but I figured do it last so that, if she gets run out of town, then at least she has the stuff she needs. If I have to, I’ll buy her stuff and take it to her.

I went in first. Out the corner of my eye, I saw something leet at m, moving fast. I jerked back, out the way and the thing went past me. It landed with an ‘oof!’ as the air was forced from it’s lungs. I hit the light switch near the doors as I started to draw my sword.

When the lights came on, I saw Pinkie Pie laying atop a small pile of multi coloured ponies, hooves pressed against her side. The ponies inside were split between looking at Pinkie Pie, looking at me and looking at Zecora. I let go of my sword’s hilt, and it dropped back into the sheath.

I walked over to help Pinkie Pie to her hooves, but Rainbow Dash blurred past me and helped her, giving me a dark look as she did. Pinkie Pie just focussed on limping along. They stood off to one side, with Twilight, Rarity, Applejack and Fluttershy. Applejack was giving me a look of what I’m pretty sure was pure rage. I didn’t get why until I saw her cutie mark. Apples. Apple Bloom. Apple Bloom was Applejack’s little sister. Thats where I remember her from, the visit Twilight and I paid to her farm before the whole Elements thing.

I waved Zecora forward and faced the assembled ponies. I think everyone was here, though how Pinkie Pie managed to fit the whole town in one building I’ll never know.

“This is Zecora, a traveller from Zhevrahan. She is not an evil enchantress, she will not put you in trances.” That got a guilty look from Pinkie Pie. “She seeks only to study plants wherever she can. As an Equestrian citizen, she is to be treated with the same amount of respect you would treat your fellow ponies. Is that understood?” It was a rhetorical question, but I still got a few nods. Most of the ponies were looking between her and I, and seemed to find they prefered dealing with her to dealing with me. Damn xenophobic ponies. I stepped back and lost the crowd’s attention. “Any problems, come find me. If it’s after I’m back in Canterlot, Spike can contact me.” I pointed out the young dragon. He stuck out like a sore thumb among the brightly coloured ponies.

“I must thank you, for helping these ponies, to my presence, adjust,” the zebra replied, bowing her head. “If I can ever return the favour, let me know you must.”

I shrugged, though I’m not going to turn down the offer of a favour. “We oddities have to look out for each other.” A few ponies seemed interested in talking to her now. Then again, its likely they were just went along with Pinkie Pie because it was easier than stopping her. I said goodbye and left her to fend for herself. She would be fine. The ponies wouldn’t hurt her.

I went over to Twilight. She would be interested in Zecora’s studies. Well, I tried to. My way was blocked by Applejack, who started shouting at me.

“Why in the hay did ya let my lil’ sis go with ya to talk to Zecora?” Applejack hissed at me.

“Your sister was never in any danger,” I explained. “Besides, since when was keeping track of her my job?”

“You’re a Guard, ain’t ya? Y’all’re s’posed to look after ponies.”

“I did look after her. Never let her out of my sight.” That seemed to calm her down a bit. “But I didn’t let her come with me. She was outside when I started talking to Zecora.”

“Oh, was she now?” With that, Applejack went off, and if she hadn’t been a pony I’d have said she had murder in her eyes. I turned to Rainbow Dash, who was looking impatient.

“Dude, how’d you dodge Pinkie like that?” Maybe it was less impatient, and more impressed. “I mean, you armour has to wear as much as I do, and you’re so big!” She paused for a bit, and then blushed, the colour standing out a lot in her light blue fur.

I let her be embarrassed for a bit before shrugging. “I’m nowhere near as strong as most ponies in the Guard, so I need to be faster than they are. You seen Twilight?”

“Yeah, she was talking to Rarity about something.” That did not bode well for me. “But, dude, we have to spar some time. There’s a dogo in Ponyville. How’s tomorrow at noon for you?”

Having literally nothing to do, I agreed to go. I’d need to find out where it was though. Twilight could tell me. I scanned the crowd, looking for either Twilight or Rarity, and hoping that if I saw Rarity then Twilight was still near her. There weren’t many ponies with Twilight’s colouring though, so it didn’t take me long to spot her. I walked through the crowd towards her, a path opening up for me.

Twilight was talking to Pinkie Pie. Or rather, Pinkie Pie was getting told off by Twilight. I only managed to catch the end of it, which was Twilight having Pinkie Pie promise not to do something again.

When Pinkie Pie saw me, she gave me a smile and then pretty much ran away. I told Twilight what I learned about Zecora, and then excused myself from what had pretty much just become a party.

Shining Armour arrived a few hours later. The party was still going on, so I was alone in the library.

“Michael,” Shining Armour said as he entered. “Where’s Twily?”

“At a party.”

Shining Armour gave me a disbelieving look. “Yeah, right. Where is she?”

“Sugarcube Corner. It’s the building that looks like a gingerbread house,” I explained. “You bring the stuff I asked for?”

“Yeah, it’s in the carriage outside.” He turned and left. I followed him outside and went to the carriage, while he went off to Sugarcube Corner. Twilight would enjoy seeing her brother. I only wish I could see the look in his face when he walks in.

I nodded to the Day Guards that were pulling the carriage. “You guys might want to get out of those harnesses. Shining Armour won’t be back for an hour or so.” The looked at each other, and had one of those silent debates all good guards can have. I took all the bags from the carriage and went back to the library. The pegasi followed me.

The bags were mostly clothes. Generally dark colours, most blues, greens and browns. They all looked more or less the same. They weren’t kevlar - dizziness and blurred vision as the definition of ‘kevlar’ forced it’s way into my skull. They seemed to be getting shorter, the waves.

The clothes weren’t kevlar, but they were warm and sturdy enough I wouldn’t have to worry about anything ripping. For a pony, the amount of clothing I had would be ridiculous, and I could tell the pegasi thought that. I moved to another room and changed out my armour. I felt far too light without it. I felt exposed.

I packed the armour away as best I could and went back to the library proper. The guards were browsing the shelves, but snapped to attention the moment I walked in. They seemed surprised to see me. It took me a while to figure out why. They’d never seen me out of my armour before, and all the metal and padding made me look bigger. I’m on of those guys that’s just naturally scrawny. Wiry, I think is the word. I guess they were surprised I had been the best fighter in the Day Guard despite most of them weighing maybe twice as much as I did.

I settled down against a wall to read, and soon the guards were reading with me. The moon rose. A couple hours passed and Shining Armour came back, collected the guards, and left. Twilight and Spike were back a few minutes later, but they were both exhausted and went straight to bed. I managed to snatch an hour of sleep, but I could tell I wasn’t getting any more. I picked a few more books of the shelves and settled in for a long, lonely night.

Author's Note:

Another chapter, slightly later than usual, I think. A sort of fluff/inbetween chapter, not a lot happens. The next chapter should have more action (not that that would be hard) but it won't be 100% action.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. If you don't, hell, even if you do, let me know why.

Comments

[hs0003]

Another good chapter but you named it chapter 6 instead of 5

[BleepBloop2]

3169691

Oh. Oops. Well, glad you enjoyed it.

Fixed.