//------------------------------// // Chapter 15 - Payments and Protégés (Part 1) // Story: A Pony Displaced: Homeward // by NoLongerSober //------------------------------// Barrier kept his eyes on a tower in the distance, trying not to think about the ‘creaking metal deathtrap’ he was on that was barrelling onward. He and his housemates, save for Daring, who had to handle an assignment involving a supposed long lost tome, were with him on the train ride to Canterlot. He was soon pulled from his thoughts by the tired filly beside him that tugged on his forelegs. “Uncle Barrier,” Wind Whistler yawned out, having some trouble staying awake. “Where are we headed and why are we going there?” Before he could give an answer, Fleetfeather piped up from across the small cabin. “We are headed to Canterlot, my dear. We’re to receive our long overdue back pay and service medals. Barrier, Verdant and I are also to receive the Lavender Heart medal for the injuries sustained in the line of duty.” “But…” The young filly leapt over to the other couch, landing in between her mother and Hat Trick, “since you received you injuries and fought in the Crystal Empire, shouldn’t we be heading there for your back pay and medals?” “Well dear, when it comes to the issue of our back pay, we were members of the Equestrian royal guard, not the imperial guard. Thus, we’re owed payment from Equestria. This also includes medals for our service for an ally nation and our combat injuries.” Fleetfeather gave the youngster a gentle pat on the head. “But since you got those injuries fighting to save the Crystal Empire, should we be headed there for your rewards?” The filly stood on her hind legs, bringing her face close to her mother’s. “I’m sure Empress Cadance will reward our efforts when the time comes, Windy,” Barrier piped up, briefly tearing his eyes away from the window. “But between modernizing a lot of things in the empire, repairing the damages Sombra caused and educating the Crystal Ponies about the modern world, I know she’s got her hooves full right now. I’d say that making sure that they have clean drinking water and a fully functional hospital are a bit more important than having special metal ‘thank you’s’ crafted for all those who helped the empire.” A collection of nods and mutterings of agreement were had by the cadets just as the train started to slow. “Attention passengers,” a pony’s voice called out from the hallway. “We will be arriving in Canterlot shortly. All passengers not headed for Baltimare should prepare to depart.” “Well everypony, get ready.” Barrier got up and quickly headed for the door. “The sooner we’re off of this thing, the better.” *** Barrier and the others happily trotted forward in the late morning sun, approaching the palace as ponies went to and through from place to place. As they approached the gate, Barrier started to fish through his saddlebags, searching for his three week old letter. Finding the note, he levitated it out of his bag and presented it to the guard at the gate. “My name is Magic Barrier. I along with Hat Trick, Winter Gem, Iron Forge, Swiftsword, Verdant Range and Fleetfeather, have an appointment with Princess Celestia today. My friend has also brought her daughter along with her.” Carefully examining the letter before glancing towards his partner who was checking a clipboard, the pair nodded and opened the gate for them. “Welcome, Mr. Barrier. Captain Shining Armor has been expecting you and said he would like to speak to you before your meeting with Princess Celestia. He should be near the training field waiting for you.” “Alright,” Barrier looked back to his compatriots as he trotted forward. “I’ll see what he wants to talk about. I shouldn’t be too long.” “Farewell, Barrier.” Fleetfeather approached the dark colored stallion, giving him a quick nuzzle that the former cadets had missed as they were taking in the sight of the palace and then she headed onwards. “We should be able to find the throne room easily enough.” As the band headed into the halls of the palace, Barrier was still surprised by what Fleet had done. Rapidly shaking his head, Barrier darted off to the training grounds, trying to push what happened out of his mind. *** As Barrier merrily approached the training field, he spotted Shining Armor in front of a circle of five guards who seemed to be trying to fight a single pony in the middle with very little success, save for the odd scuff or two on her armor. As he drew closer, he saw a smile on Shining Armor’s face. “Hey there, Cutie. How’s life been treating you?” Barrier called out, causing Shining Armor’s eyes to roll before turning to face him. “I’ve been doing pretty well so far, Barrier. I was just seeing how well these ponies would handle my second in command,” he happily said as he gestured behind him to the circle of fighters where a mare in the center was a flurry of hooves and green magical light. “I’ve gotta say, they’re doing better than I thought.” “Well it sounds like you did a good job toughening up these cream puffs.” Barrier saw the pony perform a spinning kick to her assailants, sending several of them hurtling back. “Or at least you managed to do fairly well with one.” “I’d say I’ve managed to do both, Barrier.” Shining Armor’s left eye twitched slightly at Barrier’s remark. “I’ve had us all step up our game after what I saw in the empire.” “Good call,” he said with a quick nod. “Now, what else has been happening in the life of Mr. Future Imperial Consort?” He went up to Shining Armor and pulled him around so now they were both facing the melee. “I’d say we’ve been doing pretty good so far. The guards’ skills have improved greatly as of late and I’m really certain about my second taking over for me after the wedding. But…” The alabaster stallion’s gaze shifted down as he made a small circle in the soil with his hoof. “Sweetie, don’t keep secrets from me.” Barrier wrapped a foreleg around Shining Armor’s withers, leaning closer to him, “If there’s something you’d like to talk about, just say it.” Barrier was pushed aside by an annoyed Shining Armor giving him a light shove. “Now cut that out, Barrier!” Shining exclaimed with a small huff. “It’s just… I miss Cadance, and I know that she’s got some real pains to deal with when it comes to her new rule.” He let out a sigh at the thought. “Cadance’s letters told me about how a lot of ponies in the empire are traditionalists, so they resist a lot of the changes she tries to make to help them out. Not to mention she’s got to deal with advisors bugging her to do things like gain some weight or dye her coat or put glitter in it to look more like a crystal pony.” Barrier offered a shrug. “Well, I figure they’ll straighten out when it comes to her… well, that or she’ll put them all in chains,” he said with a smirk as Shining Armor slapped a hoof against his face. “Oh don’t even joke about that,” he groaned, not seeing that Barrier’s grin grew even wider. “Oh? Worried that somepony else will take your place if she starts doing that?” Barrier had to bite his lip to keep himself from giggling at the glare that Shining Armor was giving him. “I meant having to deal with jokes about the alicorns being tyrants. I have to deal with drunks and jerks saying that sort of crap seemingly every few days.” The younger stallion turned away to gaze back at the fight, seeing the central mare had managed to knock away all but one of her opponents. “At any rate, I’m sure you and Cadance will end up having a great life together.” Barrier’s eyes drifted back to the fight, watching the unicorn mare deliver a fierce buck to the face of a large green earth pony mare. “Good job, everypony!” Shining Armor exclaimed, making the sore guards all quickly fall into line as they nursed their injuries. “I saw a lot of improvement from all of you. Better reaction time, faster and stronger strikes, more calculation and strategy in your fight. Overall, I’m impressed. Bonecrusher!” A green mare with the sore jaw stepped forward as the captain called her name. “I suggest you get to the infirmary. Hopefully, Amora won’t need to wire your jaw shut again.” Bonecrusher muttered something Barrier could not quite make out as she passed, though he was certain that he heard her muttering something about a tail. “Save for Starshine, the rest of you should hit the showers.” The four sore ponies headed off towards the barracks, leaving only the victor of the skirmish standing before the stallions. “Barrier, allow me to introduce my second-in-command and the mare who’ll be taking over after the wedding.” Shining Armor showily brought out his foreleg towards the mare he clearly took great pride in as she took off her helmet. “Lieutenant Starshine.” If there was one word Barrier would use to describe her, it would be ‘gold’. Her coat was a pale golden color that went well with her armor while her mane was the color of her armor done up in a ponytail. The only parts of her that weren’t gold were her harlequin green eyes and her cutie mark, which was a four-pointed bronze star with four silver points on the sides. Surrounding it were eight four pointed stars in bronze and silver. “Hmm… I don’t recall seeing you when I was picking ponies to come with us to the Crystal Empire,” he said as he examined the mare, who huffed in response. “I was away on personal business when you were making your choices.” Starshine glared at Barrier as she drew closer. “Not that it would matter since you apparently just decided to pick two ponies at random and a mare you met after you started a bar brawl,” she angrily spat, causing Barrier to return her harsh glare. “I happen to be very good at turning fresh young ponies into formidable guards, Lieutenant.” Barrier stepped forward towards her. “Clearly, which is why your thestral charged forward when she should have held her position and let her superior attempt to speak, leading to the whole group being taken out,” she retorted as she took a step forward. “I’ll have you know that I was given dossiers on the abilities of all the available guards by your captain to choose from, and I went through them very thoroughly. I not only saw good potential in all three of them, but I believed they could function well as a single unit.” Barrier stood his ground as the glaring mare stepped forward. “As for Cobalt’s actions, I will admit that they were reckless and that lead to their defeat at the hooves of their opponents who knew the land better than they did, and it put them at serious risk. However, one must remember that nopony is perfect. Everypony makes mistakes and the severity of this will have a great impact on her. In my time, there was a saying. ‘The best lessons are those learned from a mistake’. She learned a lesson that most anyone else wouldn't have lived to tell the tale of. It will serve her well in her career.” his eyebrow rose as a thought occurred to him. “This does lead me to wonder... what ‘personal business’ was it that kept you away from the guard when the fate of Equestria was at risk, lieutenant?” “That is none of your damn business, civilian,” she angrily answered, her response was cause for Barrier’s brow climb ever higher. “Perhaps, but it gives me reason to trust the three I chose over you, lieutenant. I believe that speaks volumes on the subject.” Barrier smirked as Starshine’s face started to turn red. “Aye,” she spat. “It shows you’re a stubborn fool who’s very set in his ways and doesn’t do much, in any actual research.” Her reply only served to make Barrier’s smirk grow wider “Whatever helps you sleep at night, kiddo,” his reply made Starshine grow more furious while he resisted the urge to chuckle. “Alright, that’s enough!” Shining Armor stepped forward, his magic lifting the pair into the air before putting some distance between them and putting them down. “Barrier, I will ask you not to antagonize my subordinates. Starshine, you’re dismissed.” The mare gave a quick salute before she trotted off towards the barracks. Once certain she was out of earshot, Shining Armor let out a sigh. “Did you really need to do that?” “Probably not, but I can’t stand an upstart questioning my ability when they have so little combat experience, Shining Armor.” Barrier trotted towards a nearby bench as he pulled his flask from his saddlebags. “She really knows how to get under a pony’s skin.” “Yeah, I admit she can be brash.” Shining Armor joined his charcoal counterpart on the bench. “Still, she’s very skilled at combat and tactics. Her assessments are usually really spot on and she’s pretty good at sorting out problems with the other soldiers.” The white stallion then let out a chuckle. “At any rate, she’s damn good at her job and I’m certain she’ll be able to handle the responsibilities she’s gonna be saddled with.” “Here’s to hoping, Shiny-Hiney.” Barrier took a swig from his flask. “Here’s to hoping.” “So...” Shining Armor clicked his tongue, hoping to think of something to shift the subject to. “How have you and your friends been?” “Eh, can’t complain too much.” Barrier shrugged as he looked up towards the clear skies. “The past two months have been pretty good. Swiftsword’s still planning on re-joining the guard, I think most of them are starting to move on to other stuff. Verdant’s become a pretty good cook while looking for a job. Hatty’s been working on his magic tricks and Forge has been reading up on modern smithing. The only one I haven’t quite been able to pin down yet is Winter Gem. Still, they seem pretty good.” “And what about the mare and her foal?” Shining’s question brought Barrier’s gaze back to the alabaster unicorn. “How have those two been?” “Well, with how well Wind Whistler’s taken to reading, I think Fleet will be enrolling her in school anytime now.”  Barrier offered the flask towards Shining, who held up a hoof and politely shook his head. “As for Fleet herself… Well, not a hundred percent sure, but I figure she’ll be trying to join the weather patrol pretty soon.” “Well that’s good to hear,” Shining Armor replied as he slid off the bench. “At any rate, I think your meeting with the princess should be soon so I won’t keep you.” He then trotted off, likely headed towards his office. Turning back to face Barrier and give a wave, he called out “Goodbye, Barrier.” “See yah around, Shiny.” Barrier stood up and headed into the palace. “Hope this won’t take too long.”