Bright and early the next day, Accurate Strike and I went to Topspin’s place and did our ten selections for the month, leaving with a set of samples and a check for more bits than I expected. “A bonus for high sales, and with Hearthswarming coming, sales can only go higher,” the earth pony told me when he gave me the check. I thanked him profusely, thinking what I could do with the unexpected dividend. I stowed the check, folding and tucking it under the protective cover of my phone before putting them away.
Strike and I expected to train home to Ponyville the next day, but Princess Luna had a surprise waiting for us. Our bags were already packed, and we were told that she had arranged for an air chariot ride back to Ponyville, pulled by two of her strongest Lunar Guard thestrals, and accompanied by two more. Now, I knew of thestrals, but I don’t know any very well. This was going to change tonight.
We were told the four have been assigned to Accurate Strike to be part of my guard force, along with four from the Solar Guard. The troops will be staying at the Ponyville Barracks until better accommodations were found. “The Princesses consider you a valuable commodity, Tristan,” the leader of the group, Lieutenant Black Sky, told us. “We were willing to accept the posting, because we like what we have heard so far of your music.”
“That’s right! It really opens up something inside me!” said one of the chariot pullers, Inky Spot. She is a younger thestral, only recently attached to the Lunar Guard. She had a good voice, and I told her so. I think she blushed, but at night, who can tell?
“We were all picked because we have some musical talent, Tristan,” Black Sky said. “We may not be professionals, but we know what we are doing. The Solar Guard ponies will also have some talent. One idea that has been floated is touring Equestria as a live band, performing some of your music, while checking for trouble.”
“Who posited that idea?” I asked.
“The Princesses, who else?” Black Sky replied.
I turned in my seat and looked at Accurate Strike. “Ever get the feeling you’re being manipulated, Strike?” I asked him.
“Breaks of the business and the price of fame, Tristan.”
The next day was busy for me, what with meeting the rest of the guard force, four more ponies from the Solar Guard (two pegasi, a unicorn and an earth pony), getting to know the thestrals better, and deciding with Captain Strike on how best to use the force to protect me. That lasted from rooster crow to sometime before lunch, when the thestrals caught some sleep until sunset. Lunchtime, I ran the records over to Vinyl Scratch and Octavia, because I knew Vinyl would want to use them that night at her show. A quick stop at the hamburger stand, then to the school to drop off their records, say hello to the kids, and reassure them that I will recover. Do you know what it is like to be gang-hugged by a whole class of eager colts and fillies? I know now…
Afternoon was spent with Twilight, Strike and I going over plans with her, and seeing if she had some other ideas on how to use the guard force. While I knew the earth pony, a stallion called Low Note, was a good musician, we found out that he could also write music. That sparked an idea in my head, to have him do sheet music of the phone songs. Another income stream, yes?
That evening, I met with the entire guard force again, this time to hash out earlier ideas. Low Note was willing to write out the music, but we limited that to only the records in production. Otherwise, he would need possession of the phone, and there was absolutely no way I was going to let it out of my hooves, nor reveal the secret of where it was hidden.
I brought in a record player and a stack of records, and we all sat around in the barracks, listening to the music and debating on just how we would form a cover band. I told them all that I felt uncomfortable being the lead singer, but that I would try my best. Black Sky convinced me that we could pull it off, once they learned the music and decided on their roles. That evening also convinced me that all of them could be trusted, to a point. While Accurate Strike knew that I hid the phone through some sort of Pinkie Pie magic, not even he knew HOW it was done or WHERE it is at any given time. His idea, not mine.
I worked hard on getting along with my guard force, because my life may possibly depend on these ponies. I deliberately left details on HOW I was to be warded up to Accurate Strike. The less I knew about how, the less I could possibly give the game away. While I knew them, and they knew me, how they worked was something I asked not to know. To that end, I started training on how to ignore them in public when they were on duty. The only known guard is Captain Strike, the rest I officially ignored. Well, tried to, at least.
Makeswell himself came out to Ponyville a few days later, to give me an examination. He pronounced my eyes had fully recovered from the flash attack and brought me several pairs of new reinforced sunglasses to wear. I accepted them with good grace while asking if I could keep the pair I had, because they worked so well. Mister pompous doctor took me at my word and let me keep the pair he had first made. Hey, they matched my fur, and they were comfortable.