The Paragon Guard

by Kaptein

Aegis and the Shop - or, "Why you think about consequences first."

Now I’m usually one for mysteries and murders, but when I have some of my precious vacation time snatched away from me by being called into the local police station, I had to admit I was somewhat worried.

Okay, worried is the wrong word. I was almost hysterical. I wasn’t in uniform and therefore still technically a civilian. And everypony knows that the police don’t like civvies. My mind filled with the horrible things a cop would probably do to civilians.

Beating with a baton, locked up for hours on end, bouncing a red rubber ball at me, interrogating me without hope or sign of reprieve. My mind had flown into a blind panic unable to stop the horrifying images flinging themselves into my mind’s eye.

“Miss Hammer?” A bored, but still stern voice pulled me out of my trance.

“DON’T TASE ME!”

There was an awkward and pressing silence as I realised I had recoiled involuntarily, wings held out protectively. It took me another few seconds to actually realise I was several orders larger than the uniformed stallion in front of me. And I had screamed like a school-filly.

A blush touched my cheeks as I looked down at him. “Er...yes? How can I help?”

The earth-pony pulled out a clipboard with several papers and examined it for a few moments before turning back to me. “Uh...yes, Miss Hammer. This is just a routine questioning regarding an incident you may have bore witness to.” He motioned with his head towards a door. “If you could please follow me.”

I was sure I was white as a sheet, and there was conveniently no mirrors around for me to check. The officer led me to a small room - the one with the one-way windows and a small table in the middle.

My breathing increased. No. No! I didn’t even know what I was here for! Why was I being locked up?! Was it those snack-cakes? Of course! It was the snack-cakes! I knew I shouldn’t have stolen them from the kitchen!

“It was Stone Craft!” I blurted out before we could even be seated. “He coerced me into taking them from the Royal Kitchens! I didn’t have any, I swear!”

The stallion wore a dumbstruck look on his face, slack-jawed and obviously very confused. He cleared his throat before looking at the clipboard then back at me. “That’s...nice, Miss Hammer, but we don’t have any reports of missing… confectionaries from the Castle Grounds.”

I blinked a few times, not really looking at him. “What?” I blinked a few more times, just to be sure. “Oh! Well then! Nevermind what I said!” I eased a half-hearted chuckle, now desperate to deflect him away from my glaring confession. “What am I in for, then?”

I could swear he took his sweet time, shuffling through the pages. It felt like hours before he flipped each page over to the next one. Finally he looked up at me, an ever bored expression that said ‘I’d rather be at home right now’ on his face.

“I just need to take a statement for you regarding an incident at a Quik-Mart on the corner of Alfalfa Lane and Broad Street.” He sat down, waving to the chair opposite the table. I politely accepted his invitation and tentatively sat down, body still rigid with anticipation.

“Uh...what incident?” I asked, genuinely perplexed this time. I eased myself into the chair.

“The wanton ransacking, vandalism and theft of the store,” he deadpanned, simply glaring at me with eyes suggesting utter boredom. No, scratch that - they weren’t suggesting anything. I’m sure he was thoroughly bored.

It took a few seconds, but the member finally clicked into place. “Ohhhh….” I trailed off, leaning back into my seat. “Yeah - uh…” I chose not to answer him immediately. I definitely remembered that evening.

I also remembered the helpless look of the teenager behind the counter and I couldn’t help but let out a small snicker. It was supposed to be a serious situation, but thinking back on it now it was probably the least serious think I could imagine.

“Is there something you want to share with me?” the officer asked, setting down the clipboard. I shot him a puzzled look. “I’m just curious as to what you find so funny.”

“Uh...nothing. Nothing at all.” Which was a complete lie but I figured I was moving into hot water and I didn’t want to get any more trouble than needed. “What statement did you need from me, again?”

“Just your interpretation of the events.”

I took my time. There was no way I wanted to give a wrong answer - and any criminal record of any type, no matter the severity, would severely damage my stance in the Royal Guard. Heck, I’d probably be expelled from the Paragon just for being involved.

Except, I was under orders. I had been there under official business with the Solar Court - I’d even shown my guard-card (I have to refrain from snickering every time I use that term). Why was there a problem?

“I - uh…” I stalled, hoping for more time to think of a reason. I glanced around the room, hoping that an idea would miraculously spring to my head. Which it didn’t.

“Miss, I hope you understand the gravity of the situation.” The tone in his voice sent my heart into a thumping alarm bell of panic. He leaned forward, placing a clipboard onto the table. “The damages are quite severe, and the proprietor of the store has made it clear he has no intention of covering the costs himself.”

I gulped, hoping the sound wasn’t too loud, as I glanced at the figures and damages on the board. “Whoah...th - that’s a lot of bits…” I stammered. “I - I think I mi - might want… I need my legal representative present before we can continue this.”

The office frowned slightly, before leaning back. “We’ve already taken care of that, miss.”

What? What did he mean? That I wasn’t going to have a proper representative? That probably meant all the cop horror fictions were true!

“I demand my lawyer!” I yelled out suddenly, slamming my hooves onto the table. A loud crack rang through the chamber, causing me to look down at the now-destroyed splinters in between us.

If I wasn’t in such a nerve-wracking situation, I would have thought the police pony’s level and bored expression impressive considering a mare almost twice his size had just turned a table into kindling.

The door clicked open behind me before clicking closed.

My throat made an odd noise as I saw Stone Craft walk into my view, taking a seat next to the officer. Most would say his expression was just as bored as the officer’s, but that was just Stone Craft’s normal look: completely neutral.

He was a veteran of the pony/griffon war almost fifteen years ago. I’m pretty sure whatever he faced back in Equestria was foal’s play compared to what was out in the field.

“A - are you… my legal representative?” I asked him?

Captain Stone Craft just shook his head slightly. “I’m here as a witness. Sorry, Aegis.”

“Wh - what?!” I cried out. Witness my tail! He wasn’t even on duty that night!

“Calm down, Miss Hammer,” the officer said. He looked back down onto his clipboard and flipping through a few pages. “Your representative will be here shortly.”

Shortly wasn’t short enough! I needed him or her her now! I didn’t even know who my representative was! Oh sweet Celestia I was hyperventilating badly. I was going to lose my job. I was going to get kicked out and I’d have to go back into blacksmithing.

The door opened and closed again. I wheeled my head, my heart doing a somersault in my chest at the sight of Strawberry Drop walking in with a grim look on her face.

“Are yo - ,” I began but was cut off.

“Nope, just a witness.”

My stomach very quickly turned into an icy pit of fear. What in the sun’s name was going on? WHERE WAS MY LAWYER?

My two fellow Paragon sat opposite me, very clearly ignoring the shattered table in between us. Even Strawberry Drop had a bored expression. Why was she so bored? Strawberry never acted bored!

I almost gave myself whiplash as I heard the door opening. My jaw dropped.

Princess Celestia, in full regalia, strode in with a humble look on her face. I almost broke down into tears right then and there as she gave me such a sorrowful look.

“J - just a witness?” I stammered out. The icy pit turned into a black hole of sheer terror as Celestia meekly nodded, taking a seat next to the police officer and other Paragon.

Wait.

Why was Celestia a witness? Witness to what?

The black hole promptly inverted into a fast-growing ball of confusion and irritation. “...I’ve been had, haven’t I?”

Stone Craft cracked the faintest hint of a smile, seemingly no longer able to keep a straight face. Strawberry and Celestia both started giggling, holding a hoof politely over their mouths.

“You…” I breathed in frustration, “played… a prank on me?”

A strange feeling settled in my chest. The majority of it was relief that I wasn’t really in trouble, however a sizable portion was anger and frustration with the ponies in front of me.

“You… played a prank on me!” I said again, my voice raising to a level I didn’t intend. “Why did you do that!?”

My heart-rate was rising again. The fear I no longer felt left a gaping hole of utter betrayal.

“Aegis Hammer,” Stone Craft began. The solemn look returning to his face would have made me take a step back hadn’t I been seated. “I was disappointed with one of the mission reports you filed.”

As if to explain, Celestia spoke. The calm and mother-like quality to her voice sent a wave of reeling and crushing self-disappointment in me. “Aegis… I am always and eternally thankful for your’s and your fellow Paragon Guard’s service to myself and to Equestria.”

Oh sun above why did she have to make me feel so guilty all of a sudden?

“It was brought to my attention that a few weeks ago, you caused a fair amount of chaos in a local 24-hour Quick-Mart.”

I nodded meekly. Tears were brimming in my eyes, yet I wasn’t really sure why. Was I going to get fired because I caused a PR incident?

“A young stallion by the name of Top Shelf had his entire livelihood upset and his life possibly damaged beyond repair due to your actions, Aegis.”

I squeaked out… something. I couldn’t really speak, despite being the second largest pony in that room I still felt smaller than a pebble in the ocean.

Strawberry Drop leaned forward this time. “Aegis, what we’re trying to say is that you need to be careful. You left the poor little guy thinking he was about to get fired or arrested or something worse.”

I turned to Stone Craft, who merely nodded once. “Sometimes you need to wear another pony’s shoes for a bit.”

“..oh,” I mumbled. “I…” I was still at a loss for words. “I’m...sorry.”

Celestia smiled warmly, the gentle look in her eyes sending a wave of comfort and reassurance through me. “It’s not us you should be apologising to, Aegis.” She turned to the officer to her left. “It’s mister Silver Shackle’s son that you should apologise to.”

I couldn’t help myself, really. I stared probably very rudely at the still calm stallion in a police officer’s uniform. He leveled an equally intense, yet neutral stare back at me.

“S - sir… I - I’m sorry. I - I wish…” Sun above! Now wasn’t the time to be unable to find my words! “Is… your son nearby?”

The officer cracked a smile, a tension I didn’t know sliding off of my shoulders. “He’s busy with his studies at the moment. I’ll have him sent round to the barracks later on today.”

I nodded and apologised to him again.

Outside the police station, Celestia walked up next to me, cupping me with one of her large wings. “I hope you learned a valuable lesson today, Aegis.”

“I did, Princess. Thank you.”

I smiled broadly to her, before she took wing and flew off. I watched her fly off into the distance back towards Canterlot, Strawberry Drop following close behind and two other Paragon pegasi in close formation.

“Princess Celestia may have not been concerned about the public-relations disaster you nearly caused,” Captain Stone Craft said, his sudden voice halting my heart momentarily. “But Leaf Brambles and Velvet Ward certainly do.”

Oh please no…

“You are to report for Detention-Barracks in two hour’s time and are subject to eight hours of PT or until the three of us are happy.” I gulped, looking at Stone Craft’s stoney expression. He tapped me on the shoulder with a hoof. “Think of it as exercise.”

I smiled weakly to him.

Sure… my week could have started better. At least there wasn’t a murder, mystery, or mystery murder to worry about.

Author's Note:

IT LIIIIVES.

This chapter harks back to the first chapter. What, you didn't think the Paragon Guard weren't going to face any consequences for completely demolishing somepony's shop?

Yeah, sorry for all the delays. I've had a rough couple of months in life. I'm still struggling to cope with the death of my friend, coupled with the fact that my grandfather also passed away a few months ago.

2015 was not a good year for me.

2016 is looking good, though

Comments

[Neece]

Faved. Need more. Cute twily is cute.

[Bruce-Man]

Why is Aegis being punished when she was ordered to do what she did by a superior officer? Seems a little backwards to me.

[IsabellaAmoreSirenix]

7005351 She was just ordered to find a toy ring, not destroy an entire shop in the process of finding said ring. It's the same way that a taxi driver would get in trouble for plowing through nine cars because the client demanded him to get there on time. A certain reasonable conduct is expected.

[Shadow_Wolf_of_Scotland]

7005351
That's just basic military action for you. Doesn't matter if superior officers gave you the order, it's up to your interpretation to follow the orders (being from Britain, we are taught to follow the rank structure to majorly, so going against poor orders is something we are not the best at, but we still go against them at points). If you believe them to be poor, you may question the commands and take them to a higher ranking officer for explanation plus judgement on them (could leed to your co or nco having to explain their orders or face consequences for a poor order).

“You are to report for Detention-Barracks in two hour’s time and are subject to eight hours of PT or until the three of us are happy.” I gulped, looking at Stone Craft’s stoney expression. He tapped me on the shoulder with a hoof. “Think of it as exercise.”

The guard is to soft on its punishments. They should follow the imperial way
*trooper commits crime*
Minor: usually basic punishments like PT or having latrine duty.
Basic (most lickely the verdict for the Aegis following the orders): service in a Penal legion/unit.
Major (the officer who gave the orders (also depending on how badly it effects the imperium)): summery execution or penal legion service
**
Could also use this for their police force. The adeptus arbites use these and hive crime is pretty down *mass gang shootings going off in background, while civilians are caught in the middle, and some juves are robbing a arms store, whilst arbites forces fight back with tanks, shields, power and electro maces, Bolters and shotguns* just the daily lives of the imperial hiver.