After their discussion in the mirror room, Prince Tempo led Douglas out of the room and back to the lift. They made their way back down to the main part of the palace and into the room with the staircase leading up to the balcony that marked the entrance to Prince Tempo’s throne room.
But instead of going up the stairs, Prince Tempo went underneath the balcony to a little door that Douglas hadn’t paid much attention to before. In here were three more doors, one leading off in each direction.
‘These are the Guard Quarters,’ Prince Tempo said. ‘In here you will find your rooms and a common room for off-duty guards, a bathing area, and an armory. First, your armor is ready, so we shall go to the armory and make sure it fits.’
Prince Tempo went forward to the door on the far side; Douglas followed close behind, intrigued, as they entered the room. There were twelve large cubbies with glass doors sitting along the edges of the room. Most seemed to have a stand to hold armor, but Douglas’ had an appropriately-made spear, sword, and a large kite shield with the insignia of the Crystal Empire, along with a modified stand with his armor sitting inside of it.
It was a beautiful armor set. It was the same light-blue armor of the rest of the Crystal Guard with small amethysts and intricate patterns on the breast and legs. Douglas pulled out each part individually and tested them all on at once and found that the crystal, much like the ponies themselves, was both hard as a rock yet flexible, barely moving when he tapped it with his knuckle but easily responding to his every movement.
‘Does anything need adjusting?’ Prince Tempo asked.
‘It all fits wonderfully,’ Douglas said. ‘But I would feel bad about tarnishing it; it looks so beautiful and yet delicate.’
‘They are magically reinforced crystal,’ Prince Tempo said. ‘The only thing harder would be diamond. And servants come in to clean the armor at night; they are very careful about their job. No need to worry about tarnishing.’
Douglas walked around the room, testing the armor out, and found it easy to walk in. It felt lighter than his Canterlot Palace Guard armor, as well.
‘You can put it away, for now,’ Prince Tempo said. ‘You won’t start until tomorrow. I’ll show you a few more areas of the palace and you’ll be free for the rest of the day.’
Douglas was shown the Prince’s throne room and his office once again, in addition to a majority of the rooms on the next floor up where the mirror room was. There were rooms with accountants, merchants, large filing cabinets, maps, and all manner of offices and secretaries. This was the main floor for the business of the Crystal Empire; the hub of trading, management, and finance. But Douglas was not going to be working there.
‘I am at first putting you on personal duty,’ Prince Tempo said as they returned to the first floor. ‘That is, you shall be attending to me and whatever I decide to do. What I do differs from day to day, so don’t worry about what you will have to do. You will have your spear or sword and shield and follow me around whatever you do.’
‘That is a bit close for me being so new,’ Douglas said. ‘Won’t that bring up some suspicion from the people? They would see a new face that is quite clearly different from others; I have only been here a week and spent almost all of that in the guard barracks.’
‘I will approach that subject in due course,’ Prince Tempo said. ‘Your reason is logical and your fear legitimate, but I promise you the citizens will not hurt one hair on your head.’
Douglas was not entirely convinced.
Prince Tempo led Douglas back into the door under the balcony and to the Guard Quarters, but this time led him to the right door. He opened it and showed him the bathing facilities, much the same as the barracks but somewhat cleaner, before heading back out and across the hall to the common room.
The common room looked like a large living room with couches and tables and counters with pots of coffee and tea, and had six more rooms leading off of it. Three ponies were inside the room, and they all stood to attention as Prince Tempo entered the room.
‘At ease,’ Tempo said, and the ponies slackened their posture but only slightly. ‘Which room has the extra bed?’
‘Ruby Rose,’ answered a stallion. ‘Her other bunk isn’t taken.’
‘Thank you. You may resume whatever you were doing previously. I have no need of you at the moment.’
The ponies nodded and proceeded to ignore the prince as though he wasn’t even in the room. Douglas followed the Prince to a room in the corner of the back wall and opened it. The room contained two beds with crystalline frames above the ground, each with a small area underneath it with a writing desk, a bookcase, and a dresser. One of them had the desk filled with flowery items as well as pieces of jewelry, while the other was blank.
‘That will be your bunk,’ Prince Tempo said, motioning to the clean one. ‘I have already sent a porter to collect your things from the barracks in the town. They’ll be here by this evening.’
Prince Tempo led Douglas back out of the room and back to the office just off the throne room, where once again they sat on either side of the desk. For the next two hours, Prince Tempo gave Douglas a schedule of events and a list of duties while serving the Crystal Empire. Breakfast was served punctually at eight fifteen every morning, and would finish at about nine. For the next two hours, the prince would be in his office while Douglas was to stand guard outside.
Once eleven hit, whatever Prince Tempo wanted to do, Douglas would go with him and keep watch. These things included going out among the populace, attending to duties in his throne room, maintaining upkeep of the Crystal Empire, and even standing guard outside his chambers. He had one free day per week – a Saturday – and a small paycheck, but it was tax-free and his medical was completely covered.
‘Are there others?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Others with whom I will be doings these tasks with? Twelve guards seems a little small for protecting royalty such as yourself.’
‘You are among the elite guard. Those are the ponies who I trust the most, aside from a special Night Guard who watches over the castle at night courtesy of Princess Luna.’
‘Yes, sir. I assume the other members of the guard come from the barracks, then.’
‘You are correct. There will be more than just the twelve of you when I am among the crowds, but the others are for crowd control and general guarding while you twelve are the actual guards for me.’
‘Understood. Is there anything else?’
‘I may talk with you every once in a while. During those times, you may drop all formalities. I like to be connected with my guards; they perform better and I can be there for them if they have problems. However, if I need to issue a direct order, you are expected to return to attention.’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘There are also certain ceremonial procedures, but they will be detailed in due course as the protocol depends on what ceremony it is.’
Douglas remained at attention.
‘For now, I think that is all. Dinner is served at seven. You are free to roam about the main floor or to consult me in the throne room or my office if there’s anything you need. I would recommend heading back to the common room and getting acquainted with your fellow guards. Perhaps they will be…’
Douglas raised an eyebrow. ‘Is there a particular reason you trailed off there, sir?’
Tempo shook his head. ‘It’s nothing. You may leave now.’
Douglas bowed and backed out of the room. He left the throne room and headed down to the common room where the three ponies were. Two of them appeared to be playing a card game, while the other was the muted purple pony from earlier, wearing glasses and reading a book on a couch. This one reading a book placed a bookmark in it and stood up from the couch before walking over to Douglas.
‘Pleasure to meet you,’ he said, voice rougher around the edges than most others Douglas had heard. ‘The name’s Crystal Barrier. I’m the most senior member here; we met at breakfast this morning but I don’t believe we spoke properly. We heard about the fight down in the barracks and apologize for what happened.’
Douglas saluted him. ‘Pleasure to meet you as well, sir. Name’s Douglas. And you don’t have to be sorry about it; it wasn’t your fault.’
‘No, but it’s improper behavior and a shame to the name of the guard and the Crystal Empire that that’s how you should be treated.’
‘Well, thank you for being a more pleasant source.’
Crystal Barrier bowed. ‘If there’s anything you need, let me know. I’m one of the older members and kind of like a father to some of the stallions and mares here and am willing to help you out. Those two over there are Sapphire and Emerald Green.’ He motioned to the deep blue stallion and his bright green partner playing cards. ‘They’re quiet but sensible and actually quite sweet once you get to know them, and they know their way around this place better than anyone.’
The two stallions waved a hoof in Douglas’ direction, but didn’t look at him, before resuming their card game as though nothing had happened.
‘Is there anything else?’
‘Not particularly. I think I just need to lie down for a little. It’s been a long day.’
‘Right. It’s about four thirty now, so I’ll wake you up at five thirty for dinner if you’re still asleep.’
‘Thanks. And you can let me know if my stuff comes in; Prince Tempo said he would be getting a porter to bring it from the barracks in the city.’
‘Will do.’
Douglas shook the hoof of Crystal Barrier, who proceeded to return to the couch and his book. Things were looking up, and as he climbed into his bunk and laid down on the soft mattress and felt the warmth of the blanket, he couldn’t help but smile at his newfound turn of luck.
For the next week, Douglas quickly became acquainted with the running of the Crystal Palace and the duties of the Royal Guard of the Crystal Empire.
Every morning at seven, he would be woken up by Ruby Rose, the red crystal pegasus he shared his dorm with, and they would head out to the common room. Crystal Barrier or another Guard would have made coffee and a lightly-sweetened black tea to drink already, and Douglas would occasionally drink a cup before going with Crystal Barrier to the armory to pick up his armor and a weapon – Douglas’ preferred weapon became the sword easily and often sheathed at his side, a long but sturdy metal blade with a blue-ish sheen.
By seven-thirty, he would be with Crystal Barrier accepting and marking off the ten regular Guards from the barracks that would provide additional assistance inside the castle. Crystal Barrier quickly realized that Douglas’ hands and fingers, while to him a little odd, were rather useful in holding a clipboard, shuffling through papers, and writing things down with a pen or pencil.
Once the ten guards for the day shift were inside, Douglas and Crystal Barrier would go inside and join the others for breakfast at eight, handing the clipboard with the names marked to Prince Tempo. A full breakfast would be had before Douglas joined Crystal Barrier again for a run through of the palace. Douglas would again have a clipboard and they would go about the castle and looking at any of the offices to see if there was any problems the ponies within were having, which Douglas would write down.
At lunchtime, Douglas would go and hand the clipboard over to Prince Tempo once again, this time likely in his offices, before heading out and joining Ruby Rose in patrol of the town. Frequently they would cross paths with Sapphire and Emerald Green also on their route. Douglas didn’t have to take a clipboard this time, but took his shield and walked throughout the city. He hardly needed the shield but took it anyway, and it was light enough like the rest of the armor he didn’t mind the weight.
While he was out, Ruby Rose took him to see the various sights around the town, stopping twice for quick bites to eat before resuming patrol. It wasn’t necessarily part of the patrol, but she would point out various things as they passed. She showed him the Museum of Equestrian Natural History, the botanical gardens, and a large and fancy market that had all sorts of different art and book stores. She took him by the train station and showed him the arena where the Equestria Games were scheduled to take place sometime in the next year, and showed him the acres of farmland that grew around the edges of the city, well-within the protective barriers that kept out the snow.
Ruby Rose and Crystal Barrier were also good with the history of the Crystal Empire. Ruby Rose would provide bits and pieces about when certain buildings were put up or established, many of which were done in the past few years though some seemed like hundreds of years ago. If Ruby Rose didn’t know what happened, Crystal Barrier would more than likely to be able to fill in the gaps. But if Crystal Barrier didn’t know, Douglas figured either the Prince would or it wasn’t necessary to know.
In the evening, Douglas would return to the palace, and at six-thirty he would once again be at the entrance of the Palace with Crystal Barrier and monitoring the exit of the ten day guards and the entrance of Princess Luna’s Night Guard, fourteen ponies with bat-like wings and slit-eyes that Crystal Barrier referred to as “thestrals”. At seven, once the last of the guard had entered, Douglas would once again take the clipboard to Prince Tempo in his office and they would go with the other Guards to dinner.
‘Tomorrow will be your first day off,’ Prince Tempo said one day when Douglas handed him the clipboard. ‘Then, the next day, you will start guarding me personally for a while.’
Douglas bowed formally, still in his armor. ‘Yes, Your Majesty.’
Prince Tempo laughed softly and with amusement. ‘You can drop the formal tone, you know. Technically, you’re done for the day. Dinner will be a more relaxed atmosphere.’
‘Royalty such as yourself should be given the respect they deserve,’ Douglas said as Prince Tempo looked over the clipboard. ‘And considering what you have done for me, I ought to be a little gracious for your position.’
Prince Tempo smiled warmly at him before motioning to the chair across his desk. ‘I assume you are getting along well with the other guards?’
‘Very much so,’ Douglas replied, sitting down at the implied command.
‘No fighting, no name-calling, no fear and avoidance?’
‘None. They’re a rather friendly bunch. It feels like the first time in a while I haven’t been antagonized since coming here.’
‘That is good to hear. You’re finally getting a break, as was Princess Celestia’s intention when she sent you up here. As I said before “Vires amicitiae” – with friendship comes strength; your friendship with the Guard here have already strengthened you and helped you to recover.’
‘Well, mostly. I’m still a little nervous around them, but so far they’ve done nothing to warrant that fear. But count that as me living twenty-six years either in fear of being bombarded with complaints, fear, and physical threats, and not as your Guard doing anything.’
Prince Tempo’s smile slowly changed into something of a smirk, something Douglas hardly noticed until it was plastered plainly on his face. ‘I should hope they wouldn’t even think of such things,’ he said silkily. ‘But if you ever feel scared or afraid, or the other guards are antagonizing you whether from here or from the barracks, let me know.’
‘...of course, Your Maje—I mean, Prince Tempo,’ Douglas said, caught off guard by the expression on the Prince’s face.
‘Very good,’ Prince Tempo said. ‘Now, why don’t we join the others for dinner?’
Douglas sat as far away as he could from the Prince at dinner. He ended up selecting a middle seat where Prince Tempo could not place his seat closer to him like he’d done before.
After dinner was done, Douglas would go into the armory with the other guards before convening in the Common Room to relax and play games. At first, Douglas was content to go into his dorm and lay on his bed with a book. But on the first evening Ruby Rose poked her head into their dorm and saw him reading, and asked him one simple question.
‘You want to learn how to play baccarat?’ There was a slight Prench accent on the word “baccarat”.
Douglas, who had never been asked to join anything while in Equestria, was dumbstruck. ‘...what?’
‘It’s a card game,’ Ruby Rose said. ‘You can bet, but we don’t. We just play.’
Douglas, still confused, put a bookmark in his book and sat up. ‘...why?’ he asked, curious but tentative.
‘It’s fun,’ Ruby Rose said simply. ‘It’s how we relax. Crystal Barrier’s dealing soon but we wanted to see if you wanted to play.’ She motioned out the door with her head. ‘You wanna play?’
Douglas nodded, got out of bed, and walked with Ruby Rose to a large circular table in the center of the room where Crystal Barrier, Sapphire, Emerald Green, and another purple pegasus were sitting with cards in front of them. There were two spare seats, one Douglas assumed was for Ruby Rose, the other...
‘Come on and sit with us, Douglas!’ Sapphire, a brilliant blue earth pony mare, said.
It was then that Douglas came to his senses and realized this was actually happening. Someone was inviting him to do something. A smile came onto his face as he came over to the table and sat down next to a small pile of chips. Someone, Douglas didn’t see who, slipped him a bottle of cold root beer with the cap already popped off. He sipped it and liked the sweet flavor and fizzy feel.
‘You ever play any card games before?’ Emerald Green, a bright green stallion, asked him.
‘No, never,’ Douglas said. ‘Where I came from before, we didn’t exactly have any games.’
‘This one is easy to learn,’ Crystal Barrier said. ‘You’ll pick it up in no time.’
Crystal Barrier turned to Ruby Rose. He took two decks he’d shuffled together and dealt her two cards face down and dealt himself two face down. Ruby Rose looked at her cards and shook her head, placing down three chips. Crystal Barrier looked at his own cards, took a card and placed it face up – a three – before adding three chips of his own.
Ruby Rose picked up her cards and turned them over. She had two eights, giving her sixteen. Crystal Barrier flipped his two face-down cards over to reveal another three and a nine, giving him a total of fifteen. Crystal Barrier pushed his chips over to Ruby Rose, placed the five cards in a discard pile, then moved over to Douglas.
‘Baccarat is simple enough,’ he said, dealing the cards. ‘You’re trying to get a total of nine. You add up the numbers on the cards and get your total. If it’s two digits, you only take the last one, so getting another card may make you go lower in certain circumstances.’
Douglas looked at his cards. He had a ten and a seven. That was seventeen, so... he had seven points. ‘What do I do if I like my total?’
‘How sure are you it’ll work?’ Crystal Barrier said. ‘The way we play, you place in one to five chips depending on how confident you are it’ll work. Or you can ask for another card and then bet.’
Douglas placed in four chips. Crystal Barrier took some from his own stash and, after looking at his cards, placed in four chips of his own. Then they flipped their cards; Douglas had his seventeen and thus seven, and Crystal Barrier had a nine and a seven, making sixteen and thus six. Douglas won five more chips and added them to his pile as play moved on to Emerald Green.
Emerald looked at his two, then asked for another card. Crystal Barrier gave him a four, and Emerald felt confident enough he placed in five chips. Crystal Barrier looked at his own, smirked, then added five chips himself.
When they revealed the cards, Emerald Green flipped over a jack and a five; combined with his four given to him, he had nine. Crystal Barrier flipped over his own cards and had an ace and a seven, giving him eight. But Crystal Barrier won the chips.
‘Wait, how come Emerald didn’t win?’ Douglas asked. ‘He had the higher total.’
‘I have a “natural” eight,’ Crystal Barrier replied. ‘He had nine, but he had to ask for a card to get it. I have a natural eight, so I win.’
‘Why’s that?’
‘I assume cases of a tie,’ Crystal Barrier said. ‘Somepony gets eight, somepony else draws eight, the pony who had it naturally should get the win. But that doesn’t explain totals of zero to seven.’ Crystal Barrier shrugged. ‘It’s a simple enough game, though, and most often that doesn’t happen.’
Douglas came in second place for the evening after Emerald Green. He’d had quite a fun evening talking with the other ponies, who were more interested in what he liked and his hobbies than they were what he looked like or where he came from. He’d gone through two hours of play and three root beers before finally feeling like he needed a break and to rest for an early morning.
As the evenings wore on, the games rotated. Sometimes they’d play more baccarat, but sometimes they showed him poker or blackjack, or brought out game boards and played chess and checkers. Having had fun the first time and thrilled by the idea, Douglas kept coming out to play whenever they invited him. He learned the games quick and wanted to play frequently, and there was always at least two ponies who would be perfectly happy to indulge him.
At the end of the week, Douglas had learned most of the games the ponies had showed him. Ruby Rose had also taught him how to play Solitaire, and he spent the first part of his day off playing round after round of Solitaire. He also found a local newspaper and found the crossword, and did that for a few hours.
There was also a strange electronic box; when a disc was placed inside, it acted similar to the computers he worked with back home but instead of walls of texts there were flashing lights, strangely cheerful music compared to beeps and whirs, and a strange pad with joystick replaced the keyboard. His hands easily grabbed the joystick and he found himself maneuvering a little pony around an obstacle course.
The longer he played, the harder the course became, and the more tight the controls and reactions needed to be, but there was something infectious about it. At first it made him giggle with strange delight, but as the course became harder he found himself enjoying the mastery of the course more than the bright colors or the cheerful music coming from the television.
Emerald Green, one of the first back to the dorms before dinner, explained to Douglas he had played a video game for the first time.
‘I want one,’ Douglas said enthusiastically.
‘They’re expensive,’ Emerald said. ‘The console alone is worth nearly two hundred bits, and the games for it can range from twenty to forty bits each. A small library of titles may be worth six hundred bits or more.’
Douglas calculated the amount in his head. ‘...so nearly a thousand bits for a small television, the console, and a few games. Heck, that’s a few paycheck’s worth.’
‘Save up, though,’ Emerald said. ‘Don’t forget what happens after you finish here; you’ll need to think about buying a house or apartment somewhere and living expenses. But you should have enough for one for yourself.’
And so Douglas became friends with the members of the Crystal Palace Guard. He found them easy to talk to, eager for his friendship, and lively companions. He was quite eager to listen and share in their jokes and games, and they were eager to add him into their group.
Which meant the only problem Douglas had was the trepidation of serving the Prince directly for the first time the next day. Unsure of what would happen to him, he went to bed early and fell into an uneasy sleep.