//------------------------------// // Security Arrangements // Story: The Crusaders // by GJT_Productions //------------------------------// "Good evening, Lieutenant Troilus. Something I can help you with?" "No, sir, just checking the scheduling for tomorrow before I turn in for the night. With those fillies performing, I need to be sure about my assignment." "... Very well then, have a good night." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After his short conversation with Lieutenant Captain Shining Armor, Lieutenant Troilus returns back out the way he came from the office, around a corner and back to where a unicorn stallion marked as a Guard Upper Class is waiting. Both ponies are waiting in the Guard offices - usually darkened and quiet at nighttime to aid the batponies as they worked - and were currently in an unused maintenance corridor, out of sight but still able to hear what was going on in Shining Armor's office. "Too close, looks like we'll have to..." Troilus begins to explain in whisper to his Upper Class companion, before the latter puts a hoof over his snout. "There's other ponies coming, sir!" the companion warns in the same whispering tone, and indeed hoofsteps are heard echoing in the hallways. Both Troilus and his companion froze in their current positions, trying to not be heard even with their breathing. Shining Armor's voice is heard coming from the office shortly afterwards, and the conversation begins with the new arrival: "Ahh, Lieutenant Vesper. All is well with the assignment transfers, I'm assuming?" "Yes, sir." Lieutenant Vesper's deep and growly voice replies. "And you have taken the job of guarding the Crusaders yourself?" "Yes, indeed. Arcturus is with me as the companion." "Very good. Leave the paperwork with me, you are dismissed." "Yes, sir. Have a good shift, sir." "Same to you. Remember, you will have both royal sisters to answer to if anything happens to the Crusader trio!" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Troilus and his companion only have enough time to exhale in relief before the fading hooves of Vesper's steps are replaced by a more lively clip-clopping coming from a different direction. Again they freeze temporarily, but this time Troilus dares to sneak a peek around the corner of the corridor. This time approaching is Princess Luna herself, an owl of some kind clinging on to her horn as tightly as he can. Troilus quickly ducks back behind cover on seeing the princess of the night approaching, and the following conversation in the office is once again only heard, not witnessed, by the two unicorn stallions: "Good evening, Lieutenant Captain. Is the Oubliettes and Ogres session tonight going on as planned?" "Yes, Your Highness, I just need to finish... uh, what's perching on your head right now, if I may ask?" "Oh, we are training this owl to be of nighttime service to Twilight Sparkle in the traditions of Starswirl the Bearded and other unicorn mages of the old times. He does not have a name yet, we will give him one at the end of his training." "Um... I hope you remember to send a letter in advance to Twily, considering how Spike is going to react..." "Who?" "... Did that owl just ask me a question?" "Your ears did not deceive you, Lieutenant Captain. He understands our speech, but probably will not be able to speak it back like the parrots in the aviary can." "Who who!" "Alright, fair enough. Your Majesty did tell him about Twily and Spike?" "Who?" "Spike is a baby dragon, assistant to Twilight Sparkle in Ponyville..." "Who?" "Twilight Sparkle is my younger sister and Princess Celestia's personal..." "Who?" "OK, now you're just being silly..." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- At this point, Lieutenant Troilus heard his lower-ranked companion trying to suppress laughter, and has to break off his spying efforts to smack him back into a quiet state of affairs. When he finally dares to take another look at the situation, he sees Princess Luna, owl still on head, walking out of the office and turning away back the way she had come. "OK, you remember the plan? We're going to execute as soon as the office is clear, and then head straight for the meeting." Troilus asks his companion in a whisper, to which the companion replies in a slient nod. Then came a wait in agonizing silence, Troilus and his companion only daring to breathe as quietly as they could manage under the building anxiety over what they had set out to do. Finally, Troilus caught a glimpse of Lieutenant Captain Shining Armor exiting out of the office, traveling the same path Luna had followed previously. "Let's go." Troilus says, just before his body becomes enveloped in a ring of green magic that starts around his hooves and travels upward. Troilus' companion emerges from the darkness behind Lieutenant Captain Shining Armor - or a stallion that looks like him - and takes station watching outside the Shining Armor's office while the doppleganger of the Lieutenant Captain enters the office and begins searching around for certain tools Shining Armor used to authenticate official documents. Tools obtained, the ersatz Shining takes them toward the assignment sheet posted on a wall just inside the guarded door. He scans for the entry for special assignment the following morning, makes note of the name and hustles back over to the main office desk, where he retypes the name and then "Lieutenant Troilus" on a seperate line below it on a typewriter-like machine placed on the desk. The paper with the names typed on it was removed from the machine, and a clean one put in its place afterward. The names are cut into two seperate strips, and tape applied to each end of the strips. The strips are then taped in such a way to reverse the name with the special assignment guarding the Cutie Mark Crusaders with "Lieutenant Troilus", such that Troilus appears to have been given the special assignment in place of the intended Guard. The previous process was repeated to switch the companion of the intended Guard with "Guard Upper Class Lycaon", the name of the stallion currently playing lookout at the office door. The changes are then "confirmed" by stamping across them with Shining Armor's officer stamp. Once the switcheroo had been accomplished and all had been put back in place, the Shining Armor mimic passes by Lycaon and returns to the darkness, Lieutenant Troilus emerging from the same darkness just moments later. "You think anypony saw what happened?" Troilus asks Lycaon, to which the latter shakes his head. "Good, we're off to the meeting then..." Troilus replies, giving an evil grin as he does so. He starts down the corridor in double-time march and malevolence in his heart, Guard Upper Class Lycaon right behind him...