//------------------------------// // Chapter 20: The RAT Exercise; Part 3 // Story: The Centurion Project // by TheEighthDayofNight //------------------------------// Elias took long strides forward. At his side marched Night Flash and Scarlet Shield, with Gray Granite and a pair of unicorns directly behind him. Around them marched almost the entirety of their team, with less than a dozen hidden elsewhere. Serious expressions decorated their faces as they walked down the center lane. The blue armor gleamed in the sunlight on everyone save for Elias, who was nearly naked. Part of his plan was going to reply on intimidation, so Elias showed his confidence by going into battle with armor only protecting his calves. His wrist guards, helmet, and cuirass remained in the command tent. Since he was already taking a cue from the Gauls with his battle dress, Elias had decided to commit, so he had torn away his tunic as well, ripping the fabric into long lengths. He had gotten some interesting looks as his scarred and tattooed back was exposed for the world to see, but for once, Elias didn’t care. He felt nothing showing off his old legion markings, and since nobody asked him questions about it, he was able to remain completely calm. Overhead, a pair of pegasi powered by, their golden armor shining bright as they took in the march of the Lunar Guard. They disappeared back toward their base, and Elias nodded in grim satisfaction. He had made everything as clear as possible. No illusions covered their approach, nor did any occupy the other lanes. Their base sat empty. Tied tightly around his arm was a blue flag, flapping in the wind as they walked. Elias intentionally kept his shield on his back so that there would be no opportunity to miss the blue cloth. While most of the ponies around him walked confidently, Elias noted that more than a few were scanning the trees nervously as they moved closer and closer to the enemy base. Elias knew that the fear was misplaced. White Shine didn’t have the tactical mind to pull off an ambush; that, and it wasn’t his style. No, the unicorn would hear his scouting reports and wait, massing his force to meet Elias head on. Elias just hoped the unicorn was arrogant enough to wait until they got closer to their base. As the lane straightened, the trees faded away. The Lunar Guards walked unopposed into the open plain before the Solar Guard base. Elias saw their flag flapping in the breeze atop their flagpole. He knew it wouldn’t be there long. Elias’ eyes drifted down, nodding approvingly as he looked over the force arrayed against them. If nothing else, the Solar Guard’s battle line was quite intimidating. Earth ponies stood interspersed amongst unicorns, who had their horns charged as Elias walked his forces calmly into view. Overhead, the pegasi circled like carrion birds. Elias knew they were watching him, and he was glad for it. ‘Keep your eyes on the flag,’ Elias thought to himself. In front of his forces stood White Shine, the unicorn waving a small green flag for truce. Scarlet handed Elias a green handkerchief, and he waved it in the air. The two combatants strode forward from their ranks, meeting halfway across the field. White Shine brought several ponies with him, while Elias walked alone. He needed an unbroken mask of confidence, and if any of his friends got nervous, it would spoil everything. As they met, Elias saw that hated pretentious smile on White Shine’s muzzle. He couldn’t wait to see it gone. “So Bright,” White Shine said with a sneer, “Palisade sends his monkey out to do his dirty work does he?” Elias shrugged. “No, he’s just smart enough to stay back with his troops so he can give orders. If nothing else, he’s keeping fresh, unlike you and your stooges here.” Elias smirked at the ponies around White Shine. “Afraid I’d beat your ass during the truce?” White Shine matched his smirk. “Such crass bravado does you no good when you bring your flag right to me. Say, you wouldn’t happen to be surrendering, would you? I have a bet running, and I must say, it is quite lucrative.” He smiled sweetly at Elias. “I’d even offer you a share if you gave me your flag. Even monkeys need money.” “Is that really the only insult you have on me Little Spear?” Elias asked with a grin. “All you’ve ever called me is a monkey, and I have to say, the insult is almost as boring as listening to you talk.” He chuckled. “Let me say, that is a low bar.” White Shine scowled at him. “Uncultured brute. That quick tongue is going to get you in trouble Bright, because it isn’t matched with a quick wit. What is to stop me from simply betraying this truce and taking the flag from your wretched body?” Elias scratched his nose, his grin never wavering. “First, it doesn’t matter how many goons you throw at me Shine, I’ll send them back in pieces. We are in different fighting classes you and I.” He thumbed his nose. “I personally dare you to try and take this flag.” Elias extended his index finger as White Shine tensed up. “However, before you do anything stupid and hasty, I want you to think on something. If you betray the truce that you called, all you’re going to do is make yourself look like a dishonorable coward who will never make it beyond a simple guard because he can’t be trusted.” Elias shrugged at the pony. “Besides, you no more want a fightless win than I do. If you feel you’re up to it, go ahead. Betray the truce and try to take the flag. You might win this little exercise, but I get the biggest, nastiest piece of slander against you that I can ever have. Believe me when I say that you will never live it down.” Elias pointed at the Lunar Guards at his back with a thumb. “Me and mine can just claim you cheated. The act of breaking a truce will haunt your name wherever you go. Just what will your family think when they hear the name White Shine the Truce Breaker. It’s a hell of a title if I do say so myself. One that might have some consequences too. Is one win really worth that?” White Shine stared at him with hate for a moment, then he smiled widely. “Well played Bright, it seems you do have a brain in that thick skull of yours. A touch of cunning too. If you were just a hair smarter and a lot better looking, you might even pass for a pony of noble blood. If you weren’t a monkey of course.” Elias smirked and shook his head, looking at nothing of the unicorn’s shoulder. “There’s that same insult again. You lack creativity Shine. You should pay somebody to compensate for that.” He snorted. “It wouldn’t be the first time somebody compensated for you.” White Shine’s glare returned, and the unicorn growled. “This truce is over. Go back to your pathetic friends so that we can kick your flank and rub it into the dirt.” Elias winked at the pony as he turned away. “Come and try Little Spear. I’ll be waiting.” Elias turned, walking back to his line slowly. He gave the subtlest of nods to Night Flash, who tapped his chest armor three times. The taps were repeated through the Lunar Guards, a near silent signal that carried across the battlefield. The trap was set. The spell shield descended as soon as Elias fell back into line, and offensive spells crackled across it a second after. A loud shout echoed forth as the Solar Guards charged behind their wall of spells. Elias grinned as he drew Feather, the blade living up to its name as it flashed lightly in his grip. Maybe it was the giddiness he was feeling, the rush of real, visceral combat, but the blade felt like nothing in his hand. His plan was coming together, and as the golden clad ponies charged, Elias took a few deep breaths. It was time for a bit more psychological warfare. He had been largely silent while fighting so far, but in this final charge, that would change. Elias had a great deal of experience with screams. He had heard all of them; grief, rage, but most importantly, pain. Elias had a lot of very personal experiences with pain. Causing it, feeling it, both inside and out. Pain was an old friend, and a bitter enemy that wouldn’t let him be. He could feel all of the old hurts tucked away in his head, and for a moment, he felt completely comfortable tapping into them. He knew the feeling wouldn’t last, likely not even till the end of the day, but Elias felt high on his feeling of wholeness. It was how he should feel, but so rarely did. The scream he used had the power to turn blood to ice. He had heard it far too many times, both in reality, and his dreams. He chose it because he knew exactly what reaction it would cause. The scream he chose was uttered from the mouths of people in the greatest of agonies, a scream that happened, not when the hot knife cut into their spine, nor when the hatchet came down again and again. No, it was the scream they uttered when their back was slowly pulled from their ribcage, muscle and fat straining to stay attached. As Elias opened his mouth and screamed, he knew exactly what it sounded like. It was the scream of a blood eagle, and this one felt more than ready to stretch his wings. Elias let out his soul shattering howl, and amplified by the spells of one of the unicorns behind him, it sang across the battlefield, causing even his troops to flinch in fear. They had prepared for this however, so as Elias rushed forward, they followed without hesitation. As he sprinted headlong at the Solar Guards, Elias let his scream shift from that of a dying man, to that of a raging one. Elias felt pure anger flow like water through his veins, heating his blood as he ran. The charging line of Solar Guards at his front balked, and as Elias came in range, he swung with deadly efficiency, slamming into their line, cracking the center of the charge. The sounds of armor crunching against armor as the two sides met was horrific, and music to Elias’ ears. Elias whirled and fought like a demon. He had warned the Lunar Guards to stay well away, and they did so, allowing him to cut loose. With the knowledge of the last two rounds, Elias had noticed that contact of any kind to certain areas on ponies made the safety spell activate, sending them away. His fighting strategy consisted of flailing wildly, striking those areas as hard as he could until the pony vanished. Half a dozen guards dropped quickly to this strategy, clearing the area around him. Elias responded by pushing forward, slamming into the second half of the charging line with increased intensity. He dipped under the jab of a spear and lashed out with the back of his hand, catching the pony in the muzzle as his scutum slammed home against the pony's neck. She vanished as another pony pushed into the suddenly empty space. Elias rushed forward under the cut of the short sword, rather than back. The earth pony balked at his careless charge, and Feather found a brief home in the pony's chest before he too disappeared. Throughout it all, Elias kept screaming, uninterrupted as he sent silent thank you’s to the second unicorn who was maintaining an endurance spell on the human. The spell granted the human increased speed, stamina, and most importantly, lung capacity. While the intention was to make it so he could drag in more air to fight for longer, Elias used it to seem like an ungodly wraith, shrieking in the face of his opponents before he attacked. A slash bit into a pegasus’ neck while his shield slammed into a unicorn’s horn. They both vanished and Elias screamed at the next pony in line. It worked well. Very well. So well in fact, that Elias quickly found himself without any opponents as he broke through the Solar Guard line. Elias briefly noticed that somehow, somebody stole his underwear, leaving him stark naked, but in his near berserker state, he didn’t care. He stumbled slightly as he fell out of range of the amplification and endurance spells, but he didn’t feel that tired at all. If anything, he felt better than usual, like a great weight had been temporarily lifted from his shoulders. A loud shout echoed behind him, then the crash of steel echoed through the air once more as a small wing of the Lunar Guard slammed into the Solar Guard's left flank, hopefully panicking the golden-clad ponies. If his math was right, Elias imagined that in about thirty seconds, the second flanking force would drop their invisibility bubble and hit the right flank, and then it would be the simple task of mopping up the fenced in Solar Guards. He couldn't think on any of that however, he had a job to do. As he regained his footing, Elias spotted White Shine and his stooges near the flag. They were staring at him in shock, but then they grinned, no doubt sensing opportunity. Elias took a quick glance around to find that he was alone, but he didn’t feel concerned about it, it was part of the plan. He needed to buy time and occupy the four golden clad ponies, three unicorns and a familiar, axe wielding earth pony. Elias cracked his neck as he stalked forward, keeping quiet now. He wanted to save every bit of his energy, especially since he needed to keep all four engaged. That, or take them out. Elias charged them, making sure to grab a stone or two from his sword belt as he did so. Sure enough, he felt himself begin to lift into the air. A sharp stone and a pain filled screech later, Elias was running again. As their compatriot vanished, White Shine and the other unicorn exchanged a glance. Neither tried the same trick, instead levitating pairs of glowing swords while the earth pony ran to meet Elias’ charge, her battle axe in her teeth. Elias lowered his head behind his shield as he met the earth pony. The boss of his scutum caused the axe blade to bounce away, and Elias shoved forward, trying to plow into the earth pony to knock her off her hooves. Before he could get close enough, Elias was forced to parry a sword strike aimed at his legs. Tucking himself tighter behind the shield, Elias felt a sword strike bite into his left shoulder. Pain lanced down the arm, but as Elias took a step back, the blade vanished. A glance told him the lightly bleeding injury wasn’t serious, and Elias peaked out to plan an attack against his three remaining opponents. They didn’t give him enough time, and Elias knew in a flash that he wasn’t going to last long. He rolled forward under a pair of sword strikes aimed at his head, and he came to his feet face to face with the other unicorn. The pony paled, trying to bring his swords forward to strike Elias, but the human cracked him in the side of the head with his scutum. The pony vanished. Elias turned on his heels just in time to block another axe swing, this one nearly ripping the shield from his arm. Elias slashed desperately with Feather, driving the pony back. Before he could press his advantage, a large pair of golden swords cut at his neck. Elias stumbled backward as he tried to avoid getting his throat slit. He managed to hold his balance for a few steps, but then the earth pony rammed into him, sending his scutum flying from his grip. With Elias' primary defense gone, and completely off balance, White Shine dissipated his swords and charged a spell, hitting Elias square in the chest with a blast of raw magic. Pain arced across Elias’ chest, and his jaw seized up, causing his teeth to nearly cut his tongue in two. He collapsed, writhing to the ground as he tried to keep a steady grip on his gladius. The earth pony was having none of that, as she stomped on his wrist, causing his hand to fall open, releasing the blade into the dirt. As Elias panted, trying to get air in his chest to push the earth pony away, he found a blade pressed against his throat. Elias closed one eye to see through the glare of the sunlight, and found White Shine staring smugly down at him. “Surrender Bright. It is the honorable thing. You are beaten.” Elias winced as he spoke. “Really?” he said breathlessly, “because I’ve got you right where I want you.” White Shine rolled his eyes. “Fine, be a stupid monkey to the bitter end then. Hold him still Wood Cutter, I shall take the flag from him.” Elias felt the earth pony pin his limbs, watching closely as White Shine unclasped his helmet, waving his mane dramatically as he set it on the ground. The unicorn then conjured a small, golden blade and approached Elias. The human tried to squirm, but found that the earth pony was substantially stronger than he was. She didn’t so much as budge despite his best effort. White Shine looked in Elias’ eyes as he cut the cloth from Elias’ arm, holding it triumphantly in the air. “And like that, we are victorious!” he proclaimed loudly. A boom echoed around them and Elias watched as fireworks lit up the sky. He grinned when they exploded with blue sparks, rather than gold. White Shine looked at the color’s with horror, then he looked at the bloody rag in his hooves. He got in Elias’ face, waving the cloth with fury. “What the buck is this Bright?” he shouted angrily. Elias snorted. “That my dear White Shine, is called bait. And if you’ll take a look at your flag, that is called a win for my team.” The unicorn’s head snapped up, watching in horror as Book Binder, with the real flag suspended in her plume, waved the Solar Guard flag back and forth, shouting jubilantly. Elias felt a smile creep across his face as shouts of victory echoed across the battlefield. White Shine spun on him again, his face contorted with rage. “Y-You!” Elias said nothing, nor did he move. Mostly because of the heavy pony that was still pinning him to the ground, not in anger, but in complete shock. Elias smiled, clearing his throat loudly as he stared at the earth pony. She blinked, and looked down at him. “Ah, Wood Cutter was it? Could you let me up?” The pony blinked again, then looked down at how she was still pinning his limbs to the ground. She grinned sheepishly, blushing as she backed off. Elias sat up, then pushed himself to his feet. As he began dusting himself off, Book Binder sprinted at him, the flag in her magic as she leaped, crashing onto his shoulders. Elias stumbled, but managed to keep his balance as the pony wrapped her hooves around his head. “We did it, we did it, we did it!” she crowed loudly in his ear. Elias blinked as the golden material of the flag found its way in front of his eyes, blinding him. “We actually did it Elias! We won! We finally won!” Elias smiled and brushed the flag aside, attempting to bend over to retrieve his fallen sword and shield. He managed to grab and sheathe Feather, but the scutum remained out of reach as the rest of their team flooded in. The Lunar Guards cheered and jostled him as they celebrated loudly. Elias spotted more than one pony with tears of joy on their faces. He supposed it was an occasion worthy of crying for, though he knew tears would never touch his face for something so casual and safe. Elias nearly toppled again when Night Flash flapped up, joining Book Binder on his shoulders. He used his wings for balance as he hugged the unicorn. She giggled as she pulled him in for a kiss, and Elias watched as the pegasus’ hips began to waggle as if he was going to try for the next step. “Hey!” Elias yelled at them, trying to cut through the noise. “If you’re going to do that, do it on the ground! You’re wearing armor and neither of you are exactly light. I’m strong, but not that strong.” Elias felt Book Binder lightly smack the back of his head. “Hush you, we’re trying to have a moment.” Night Flash just smiled at the two of them however, hopping off of Elias’ shoulders gracefully. Book Binder sighed, then nuzzled the back of Elias’ head as she whispered for him to let her down as well. Once the pair was on the ground, they continued to celebrate, joining in the cheering as the flag was passed around. Elias felt someone poke his side, and looked down to find Scarlet, his scutum in the pony’s teeth. Elias took the shield in his left hand. “Thanks Scarlet, I really didn’t want to have to go look for this.” The pegasus nodded happily. “Hey, it’s the least I can do since you helped us win!” The pegasus jumped into the air, his wings fluttering at his side. “I can’t believe we did it!” He smiled at Elias for a second, then his eyes drifted downward slightly, and his face flushed as he looked away. The pegasus cleared his throat. “Uh, Elias, you might want to cover up. You're uhm…” He waved at Elias’ crotch, and Elias joined him in flushing red as he used his shield to cover his exposed genitals. He had forgotten that. He had no clothes, and while that was okay for ponies, or even himself in the heat of battle, the fighting was done, and now he desperately wished he hadn’t torn his tunic into strips to make a decoy flag. Elias was kind of curious about who had stolen his briefs as well. They hadn’t even left a scratch; the underwear was simply gone. He shuddered at the thought of someone taking them as a souvenir. As Elias mused about how he was going to escape the battlefield with his dignity intact, a loud cry caused everyone to freeze and snap to. “ATTENTION!” Nightshade shouted as she descended from the sky like a bullet. “Guardspony Palisade, Guardspony White Shine, front and center! All else, face the address.” Elias turned and quickly saw Luna, Celestia, Nightshade, and Captain Armor, all waiting with serious faces. Elias felt sweat run down his exposed back. He desperately prayed that this was all some sort of strange twist on his night terrors. He’d never had a nude dream, but he saw no reason not to start now. Any kind of dream would be better than this. The two team captains stood at attention directly in front of Celestia and Luna. Celestia cleared her throat loudly as she addressed them. “Team Captain White Shine, you have sent your guard captain a letter expressing concerns that you opponents cheated. Would you care to expound on this?” White Shine grinned with all the smugness of a cat who just intentionally threw up on somebody’s breakfast. “Of course, Princess. The forces of Palisade broke the rule of hiding their flag.” He levitated the scrap of Elias’ tunic in front of the princesses. “This false flag was worn by one of Palisade’s guards, while the other was secreted away. This is in clear violation of the rules, and therefore their “victory” is moot.” He shifted slightly as he straightened, his nose in the air as his eyes glanced back at Elias. Elias didn’t respond whatsoever; he had actually planned for this as well. He even gave Palisade the entire justification, so if the pony would just say it… Celestia looked to Palisade. “How do you respond to these allegations Guardspony Palisade?” “They’re completely untrue Princess,” Palisade replied confidently. Elias began to let out a sigh of relief, until he heard the brown pegasus’ next words. “Though if I may be so bold, I did not hold the entirety of the battle plan, and therefore I am not the best pony to defend it. That honor should go to our chief strategist, Guardsman Bright.” Elias immediately felt all eyes shift to him. ‘Damn you Palisade,’ Elias thought angrily to himself. ‘You’re going to pay for this.’ Celestia looked at him carefully. “Guardsman Bright, please step forward.” Elias did so, with several ponies shifting out of his way. Scarlet gave him an apologetic look as he walked away, and Elias heard a trail of gasps left in his wake. This day shouldn’t have been this bad. It really shouldn’t have been. Elias took a deep breath as he took a glance at White Shine, who smiled smugly back. That smile got Elias’ blood up, so his confidence returned as well. Keeping his shield over his front, Elias straightened as he fell into a modified attention in front of the princesses. He pretended that he didn’t know that his ass was currently on display to the entirety of both teams. If he could keep his scutum blocking his crotch, he would be fine. Evidently the universe had other ideas, primarily in the form of Nightshade. The thestral frowned deeply as she glared at him. “Guardsman Bright, you stand at attention when in front of the princesses, so fall in.” Elias bit his lip as he struggled not to just duck and run. “Captain, that’s not really a good idea right now, I don’t-“ “I don’t care what you think Bright!” she shouted at him. “Now stand at attention before I take you back to the castle and run you till you drop!” Elias sighed deeply. Of course not. He scratched his eyebrow, looking at the angry thestral. She glared furiously back. Elias took a deep breath. “Well, you asked for it…” Elias straightened to attention, and his shield fell to his side. His eyes never left Nightshade’s face however, so he was able to watch in real time as she became redder than a tomato. Her eyes were locked on his lower half, and Elias just shook his head in embarrassment as he looked to the two princesses. Both stared at him with jaws agape, as did Captain Armor, though luckily his eyes weren’t directed downward. Instead, the unicorn was just staring dumbly at Elias’ scarred chest. A glance down showed him that the bandage that had covered his axe wound was gone as well, and the brutal looking scar that ran from his left pectoral down to his belly button was exposed as well. “Elias… you’re naked,” Luna finally said, her eyes dragging themselves away from his bare crotch. “Eeyup,” Elias replied, nodding simply as he bit his lip. Celestia was the first to clear herself fully from her stupor. Her magenta eyes found his, and he saw a slight smile on her face. “I must say, I am quite excited to hear how this played into your grand plan.” “To be fair Princess, I did have underwear on earlier, but somebody tore them off,” Elias replied, casting a glance over his shoulder at a large group of Solar Guards. “If you want to find out the entire reason of why I’m naked, you’ll have to ask someone else.” “Quite,” Celestia said with a smile. “Now, on to business, White Shine has leveled a rather serious accusation against your team, how do you respond?” Elias did his best not to move at all, ignoring the shiver he felt as the wind picked up slightly. It carried a cold edge to it, and Elias could only pray that nobody else decided to join in on what was slowly turning out to be a shitty day. “White Shine’s allegations are false, and I have concrete evidence to prove it.” The more he spoke, the less self-aware Elias became, so he relaxed as best he could as he continued. “To start, there is nothing in the rule book about creating a false flag, so that portion of the deception is completely fair. Second, prior to the match, I had Palisade send a message to Captain Nightshade, requesting that she watch Book Binder for the entirety of the match.” He looked over to the thestral, who still had her eyes locked on his lower half. “I would assume she did so, and you can check everything I say with her observations.” He straightened, facing Celestia once more. “Even if she didn’t however, the plan was as such. The entirety of our force, save for Book Binder left our base first, traveling down the center lane toward White Shine’s base. This was to draw the eyes of his scouts while Book Binder waited at base. After an allotted amount of time, Book Binder left the base, travelling along the left lane and around the left side of the arena, just inside the forest boundaries. The thought was that nobody would think to search such areas, since they so obviously restrict a pony's magical abilities. As far as I know, she held her head high as she walked up the lane, and the flag remained in sight of anyone who was looking.” Elias cleared his throat, as he resisted the continuous urge to cover up. “My nakedness, as with the enhanced screaming, obvious attack, and even talking to White Shine was with the intention of keeping his eyes off the real flag. As Captain Nightshade is currently demonstrating, this strategy worked well.” Luna snorted as her eyes broke away from Elias to look at the guard captain. She nudged the thestral in the side with a hoof. “Captain, I believe you are drooling,” she said playfully. Nightshade’s jaw snapped shut and she flushed crimson as her wings shuffled. She straightened and her eyes stared into nothing as she tried to look at nobody at all, especially not Elias. Celestia smiled widely. “Indeed, it would seem so. You are free to cover up Guardsman Bright, I think you have proved that point adequately.” Elias nodded at her gratefully and his scutum slid over his front, blocking sight access to his crotch. He caught what looked like a pout on Luna’s face, as well as what was definitely a pout on Nightshade’s. Neither met his eye however, and Celestia motioned for him to continue. Elias took a deep breath. “With White Shine’s forces squarely focused on my antics, Book Binder was able to simply walk up to their flag and take it, the real flag was in her plume the entire time.” Seeing nothing else to lose, Elias cleared his throat as he threw a glance at White Shine. “I believe Guardspony White Shine is calling foul because he does not wish to have it brought to your attention that he was spending more time checking “spears” than he was planning effective battle strategy.” A feather could have dropped, and he would have heard it. The silence in the air was chilling, and if Elias didn’t have all eyes on him before, he certainly did now. To make a joke like that, to Celestia’s face, while naked, during an important discussion probably wasn’t his smartest move. It was certainly a worthwhile one though. White Shine had decided to match Nightshade in flushing crimson, his eyes filled with rage as he glared at Elias. Elias however, kept a straight face as he gauged the reactions of the ponies in front of him. Nightshade was looking at him with a mixture of horror and pride, along with something… else. Her eyes were narrowed to pin pricks, and she quivered as she tried not to laugh. Luna just had pure joy in her eyes. She only barely suppressed the signs of her mirth as her normally flowing tail swished back and forth while she bit her bottom lip, a wide grin on her face. Captain Armor was aggressively chewing on his cheek as he shook his head back and forth, turning a light shade of red as he held his breath. Finally, Celestia calmly maintained her mask and nodded as if Elias had just given her ground breaking insight. She looked to Nightshade. “Are his reports concerning Guardspony Book Binder accurate Captain?” Nightshade nodded, straightening as she let her professionalism suppress her emotions. “Yes Princess. Book Binder remained clearly visible throughout the exercise. Had any of White Shine’s forces tried looking in the woods for her, she could have been captured swiftly.” Celestia nodded, then looked to White Shine. “Tell me then White Shine, is Guardsman Bright’s claim that you were studying the spears of other guards true?” Elias' jaw clamped down as he struggled not to grin. She was playing along, and that made everything so much worse. White Shine looked aghast that Celestia had even asked such a question, and he could only stutter as he tried to reply. “P-princess I-I I don’t think...” “Come now Guardspony, either you were distracted during your planning period, studying the spear shafts of other guards as Guardsman Bright claims, or you weren’t, in which case you made an oversight concerning your battle strategy. Which is it?” White Shine seemed frozen in place for a moment, then he sighed as he visibly drooped, his muzzle pointed toward the ground. “Princess, I would like to withdraw my accusations.” Celestia smiled brightly. “Excellent.” She looked to Palisade, who was standing to the left of Elias. “Team Captain Palisade, you have my congratulations, your forces have won today’s game.” The ponies behind him let out a cheer, and Elias was surprised to find that ponies from both teams were cheering. Solar Guard mingled with Lunar Guards as they hugged and jostled each other, chattering happily as they began to exchange stories and congratulations. The Lunar Guards bragged about their win, while Solar Guards gave them playful jabs, claiming their minor victories in comparing the number of eliminations. As he watched the ponies celebrate with each other, Nightshade stalked up to him, punching him in an undamaged portion of his chest. “That wasn’t funny Bright!” she shouted at him, though the words seemed to lack her usual heat. “I don’t care how much Guardspony Shine is checking you out, you don’t brag about it to the princesses.” Elias groaned as Nightshade smiled, giggling at him. The ponies nearby laughed too, and Elias noticed more than a few looks at his still exposed butt. Nightshade pressed close to him, handing a slip of paper into his hands as she fake growled at him. “Don’t do it again.” She turned away, and Elias noticed her tail twitch upward as she did so. He attributed it to her laughter, and ignored it, instead focusing on the paper. He unfolded it slightly, peaking at the words written on it. ‘Keep up the good work Guardsman. And consider being nude more often, it suits you.’ -L Elias looked up, quickly finding Luna. She winked at him, her cheeks slightly red as she, Celestia, and Nightshade took to the air. Elias stared after them in confusion, tucking the note into one of his belt pouches where he could keep it safe. He didn’t have long to stare however, as Book Binder jumped on his shoulders again, pointing toward the arena exit as she cried out for celebratory refreshments. Her cheer instantly spread to the rest of the guards as they cheered loudly, surrounding Elias as they pushed forward, a fuzzy mass of loud ponies that swept them away back toward the castle.