//------------------------------// // Chapter 6: Roots in place, wheels in motion, lets get started. (Edits HorseWordFan) // Story: Colonel Hooves and the Empire of Crystal // by KarmaSentinal //------------------------------// Shining and I left shortly after that.  With his goal of letting Cadence sleep ended as the alicorn was widely awake, and trading gossip with Topaz, we decided to leave them be so we could do a proper tour of the Guard Barracks.  Dismissing ourselves, we left Cersus in the giggling company of our respective mares providing us the opportunity to clear the air so to speak.  It was during this trek I noticed how distant my friend had become since leaving his private quarters, and to my ignorance at the time didn’t realize how my earlier statement had sounded. Looking back, it explained why the unkind looks he gave me never relented.  Ever ignorant of the matter, I asked my friend where all of this hostility was coming from. “Why are you so mad?” I asked my friend as we made a left turn heading for the stairs.  “Idol..are you serious?” His slanted brow, and granite voice only added to the image of an upset pony. I nodded.  “Your posture is tense, and projects an abnormal amount of aggression…” I tried mimicking his facial features to better demonstrate my point, which unintentionally served to further antagonize him. “Enough! When were you going to tell me about the two of you?” “I thought you knew?” Shining had seen Topaz and myself together before, and I'd assumed he understood what a relationship was from his own prior experience. Then again, their relationship was and still is a unique situation amongst pony society, and that was one fact I failed to consider. My only frame of reference for a proper relationship was (at the time) the recently married Wispy and Bold with a few notable members of the Guard  were ‘single by choice’. Even the Princesses, while entrenched in more conservative ways hadn’t taken a suitable mate in some time, leaving my pool to model from even less.  While still fairly new, the Elements of Harmony (to my knowledge) had no current suitors, and thankfully this applied to Cersus as well. That wasn’t to suggest she would never potentially find a suitor, but that is an ordeal I’m not ready to confront just yet.  “Celestia above, Idol there’s a code for this sort of thing! At the very least, you should have asked me before going through with it.” His anger was still present, but had simmered more to an irritation with an underlying layer of sorrow.  “I should?” He nodded  “Yes, you do. It’s respectful if not a formality for the one seeking the relationship to ask the brother first, before going through with it.” I blinked, now more lost than before.  “I wasn’t aware Topaz had a brother, or one she’s willing to disclose. Her mother had expressed great approval for our union since the first meeting, and I had assumed her support was enough.” “Not Topaz! Twilight!” “Why would I ask Lady Twilight to ask you, to ask your permission to pursue a relationship with Topaz?” I tried thinking of a justification for the exaggerated procedure, but only came up with one- Cadence. It all made sense now.  “Because you’re dating my sister!” Shining’s accusation ended our current stroll, and sped up the only guard patrol (not including those guarding our rooms) on this floor to avoid being caught eavesdropping.  I had to force myself to blink just to keep my eyes moist, else I would have stood there unmoving trying to process this… “Tripe. Never in our years of friendship have I heard a claim more outlandish, other than Princess Celestia being Cadence’s mother.” By now I had found my bodily functions responding normally, and didn’t have to force myself to breathe or blink, and this freed up in micromanaging allowed me to lean in and squint my eyes for some effect.  The truth of my words mixed with a bit of feigned irritation did the trick and kept Shining distracted long enough for both of us to gather our wits. He stumbled on some words before abandoning them for silence as his eyes and ears twitched with embellished movements.  I waited until he was finally done with his ‘critical thinking’ to look at me with greater clemency, before using the ladle to stir the kettle.  “Or the claim that the three of us we…” “Quiet!” Shining had crossed the distance to place a hoof over my mouth while quickly looking around the hall to verify our sole occupancy. He lowered his hoof after I made the agreement to remain quiet.  “We agreed to never speak of that.” He poked my chest with a little more force than usual to be considered camaraderie.  “And you should have more trust in me.” I returned the gesture of poking his barrel, making Shining Armor back off to leave a pony length between us.  “Fair enough, Idol.” He nodded more himself than my own benefit as he further processed everything said. “ I jumped the ravine there…” “It was more of a stream, but yes you did.” That made him chuckle, and that was enough to assure me the tension was finally tapering off did I ask my question. “Why would you think Twilight and myself were courting?” “Because you said so, and don’t deny it! Future brother-in-law, remember?” He kept the distance, but still raised a hoof to submit another accusation my way.  Ah, that’s my fault. “A poor choice of words then Shining, but I will officially state there is no relationship between your sister and I.” “Then why would you say something like that and not mean it Idol!?” “Simple. I might be betrothed to her Highness, Princess Celestia, and didn’t know how else to address you.”  Once again I failed to account for the strength behind those words, and I felt myself ‘cringe’ as Cersus stated on a few occasions before our relocation. My head fin almost broke my disguise from the new emotional mixture gushing from my friend, so powerful was the ‘threat’. He tripped over his tongue and hooves as he babbled and looked left and right to see if any other pony was around to verify what he had heard, but the two guards had left some time ago leaving the two of us very alone.  Shining looked at me yet again and I nodded the verification he sought, but this spurred him on even further into an incoherent mess before rushing me,( to my surprise) grabbing my shoulders.   “Does Cadence know?” I slowly moved my head left and then right trying to avoid any sudden movements.  “Not that I am aware of, this knowledge was just disclosed to me early this morning.” I waited for an immediate  reply, but instead found him staring at me as he would for one of the little figures we buy so often. The difference here he wouldn’t be subjected to Cadence's teasing.  “So you’re not dating Twil?” “That is correct.” He was believing my claims, but couldn’t unhear my poorly chosen words. And to further sow doubt of a possible relationship with Lady Twilight, I had to convince him of the absurdity by proposing an equally absurd point.    “Would you seek a relationship with Cersus?” I asked Shining and as predicted he seemed utterly disgusted by the question.  “Whahat! NO! Ho..HOW COULD YOU ASK…” I had to stop him by placing a hoof over his mouth, and only when he took the action as a sign to calm down did I clarify the question.  “That is how I feel when you ask me about Lady Twilight.” Using Cersus in this manner greatly bothered me, but the point was made. “Sorry.” Shining Armor apologized as he retreated a few hooves back, avoiding direct eye contact while doing so.  “There’s no lasting harm Shining, but please don’t make me use another example like before.” “Deal.” He nodded while extending his hoof out, and I followed suit, bumping the outstretched limb.  With the past behind us and our friendship reestablished, we resumed our journey to the lower floors to meet with the current commander of the Crystal Guard. To pass the time I began recounting the events of this morning to the present, and how I was led to believe a union between Celestia and myself was not only possible but likely to happen.  A credit to his position as a best friend, he didn’t laugh at or interject the usual remark of ‘my mother’ or some other form of friendly bashing stallions would do. He just listened, or would nod at the appropriate times one needed the confirmation.    I of course thanked him for this valuable skill with another promise I wasn’t seeing his sister behind his back.  “Thank you Idol, that’s reassuring for me to hear.” I was about to assure him this wasn’t the issue yet again when he went for a low blow. “Because Cadence tells me Celestia has a hard time sharing her things.” I sighed while I listened to his laughter echoing down the stairwell.  Our descent to the sixth and fifth floors went smoothly after clearing the air of our misunderstanding, but we lost much time in the process.  Each window we passed only confirmed this fact as the position of the sun appeared to move opposite of us, we moved forward while it slinked backward toward the Crystal Mountains that surrounded the city. Shining and I began making bets as to the correct time with myself estimating it was somewhere near the late afternoon; giving the slow angling to the west I was safe to assume Princess Celestia was in the middle of holding court. The only time of the day when the princess would lax her grip over the burning star.  “It’s almost 4pm.” I offered my guess. “Closer to 5, actually.” I turned to my friend, partly irritable he would one up my guess, and when he noticed me waiting simply shrugged.  “I lived in Canterlot my entire life, while my lil sis was the personal student to the Princess. You just pick up these things.” His logic was already acceptable, and given his relationship with Cadence only made the argument all the more solid. I ran my tongue over my teeth as my eyes casually drifted toward the windows that lit this hall so very brightly, trying to find a way to refute his claim.  After a moment or so and no closer to deciphering his claim, I was forced to retract my own claim.  “Normally, this would be a friendly debate between two buds, but time is against us.” My ears perked at this unknown time limit being imposed on us, and responded accordingly. “If it is so, we must act quickly.” Shining nodded as we began trotting a little faster, ignoring the few guards patrolling this floor. The bet was postponed until a later date.  “The next Changing of the Guard is scheduled at 5:30, but if we hurry we might catch Shifting Winds before his shift ends.”  “I assume Shifting Winds is the ranking officer of the guard?” I asked just as both of us trotted past another pair of guards, this time nodding to them as they saluted us.  Several banners embroidered with the insignias of several Equestrian Guard units, and one Crystal Empire Unit, based on its use of the Crystal Heart, hung in between the empty spaces of each room. These banners were the only true decoration allowed per guard regulations, but size and lack of true leadership allowed these standards to slip giving way to some portraits of Cadence and another alicorn I didn’t recognize.  “He’s the highest ranking guard besides myself, and the acting Captain until a replacement can be found. Your arrival changes little besides another pony to answer to.”  “Ignorance on my part, but I’d assumed I would be more of an advisory role?” I asked while returning yet another nod to some more guards as they trickled in.  “Somewhat, Idol. You’ll be in charge with Shifting Wind acting as your second in command, unless you feel the need to excuse Shift…” “Absolutely not.” I interjected as our trot began slowing down until we stood directly in front of a matching set of purple doors with a single piece of parchment taped to its surface.  ‘Sgt. Shifting Winds’ “We’re working on getting him an actual office with a plaque, but that would involve having to leave his room everyday.” Shining added as he knocked on the door. “He works from home? How is that possible?” I asked trying to understand the social and mechanical engineering required to pull off a feat.  Shining chuckled as he made a show of looking around the hall, which had grown in occupancy of various guards composed of different armor sets (mostly Equestrian) milling about or entering some of the rooms. Many of these groups feigned obliviousness to our presences while a few greener guards made no effort to hide their interest, I could sense all of them were listening- watching.  Another issue I would have to address in the upcoming months. The idle mingling between fellow guards wasn’t a concern, but the blatant lack of tact on display translated poorly for the organization as a whole. Even when compared to our own exploits with Shining Armor, we still followed the unspoken protocol  of not being seen enough to be recognized by your superiors, skirting by the tip of our horns in a few of those cases.  Ignoring them, Shining explained how the acting commander Shifting Winds had achieved the rare feat of being able to work while remaining home as a part of his assignment. “His quarters double as an office? Remarkably efficient. Her highness, Princess Celestia, should look into holding court in her study.” He chuckled.  “Only if you’re the kind of pony that likes taking their work home, but for the average pony this is a curse.” Shining knocked once more, and this time we gave up on meeting Shifting Winds for the day. “What do you suggest  now Shining?” He brushed off my question as he looked around the hall forcing many of our listeners to quickly turn tail, but not many were quick enough to avoid fate.  “You! Pegasus!” He pointed down the hall toward a mare suffering from EWG or Excessive Wing Growth condition which hindered her ability to flee. The large, puffy wings made flying near impossible, forcing the mare to make short hops to gain some air before gliding away from us.    “I didn’t mean to! I was just passing by, and…” she was a terrible liar, but her desperate cries further emphasized her condition as her massive wings flapped wildly trying to put as much distance between herself and us.  We began trotting after her, ordering her to stop as we did.   “AT EASE, GUARD!” Shining yelled, sending her into another fit of sporadic flapping. “Cease your actions at once guard!” I commanded, ignoring the shock looks of my friend and the pegasus fell mid flight to the floor with a loud thump.  I held my gaze on the pegasus as we approached, her focus moving from her flanks to me, and for the third time in my life I felt the fear a pony had for me. Celestia and Order above, Shining must've noticed my uneasiness and took up the task of talking to the guard.  “Thank you..Idol.” “Appreciation isn’t necessary, but duly noted.” I kept my reply short and simple sensing some trepidation from Shining and unbridled terror from the guard.  We both turned to the mare who had slowly picked herself off the floor, watching how her excessive wings were used more for supporting herself than being folded to her side. Excluding the ruling princesses, I have never seen a pegasus with large wings before and watching how she used them as an extra set of workable appendages. This adaptation to a physical condition is really impressive on a… “...er again, your highness!” The mare had snapped off a salute to Shining, who returned the action before gesturing to me.  The fear whirling around the mare was persistent, but dampened enough to be less distracting to properly gauge her. The cobbled-together armor pieces, a mix of antique Empire and modern Equestrian, clattered as she adjusted herself to face me, and perform another salute. “Corporal Fire Flight, Sir!” She managed without a single sign of distress in her voice, but having felt her feelings I knew it was an act. A very convincing one, and a credit to her training.  “Id.. Colonel Hooves of the Equestrian Guard.” I offered my own salute, and she quickly dropped her own.  Not wanting to leave our introduction on a sour note, he asked the corporal if she knew where Shifting Winds was and if not could she answer a few questions. She agreed of course, but the three of us knew there wasn’t a real choice especially after that first impression. “...annnnnnd?” Topaz left the question hanging as I watched Cersus scribe her letter, pointing out grammatical errors as she made them. Her persistence wasn’t derived from the need to know, but from the curiosity being escorted back.  Being escorted by a pegasus mare with abnormal wings would warrant a few concerns for their general health as well. “I’m sorry?” Her eyes narrowed slightly while I did my best to not move, and this ploy worked for her mood flipped once more.  “No, I’m sorry.” Topaz sighed as she moved toward Cersus and myself, offering her side as she did so. I took her offer and provided my own side as well as she made herself comfortable next to me so the two of us could proofread Cersus’s letter.  I found myself humming a familiar tune as Topaz leaned next to me, but the words to this melody were unknown as if I had plucked the chords before looking lyrics up. Still, in the present order this tune was more than random noises, but a sort of manifestation of my current mood- my joy given form.  “Are you a cat?” I blinked, looking down toward Cersus while ignoring the suppressed giggles coming from my left. “I would assume no…” I left the question open as I knew not her reasoning for making such a comparison.  “... cause you should leave the purring to them.” Topaz was trying not to snort when she got too amused by a particular topic or event, leaving me to defend myself against the chuckling filly.  While they laughed at my expense, I pondered for anything I could use and the only thing I could think about using stemmed from a previous discussion nearly two days prior. While I wouldn’t mean it, the uncertainty of the statement would be enough to ‘one up’ the filly.  “And I was just considering raising your allowance to a more acceptable amount.” This got both of their attention with Topaz looking more interested in seeing what would happen while Cersus fought herself to not take the bait. “You already did.” She narrowed her eyes at me, and I might have smiled at her. “That was before certain information became known, but regardless of the past, your appearance reflects on not only Topaz but myself.” Topaz removed herself from my side to sit up, and partly mimic Cersus’s posture now wondering how she was involved.  “I…” “100 bits a month.” I cut the surprised nymph off, taking some satisfaction from their stunned silence before pulling another ‘Discordic’ act. “Topaz and I agreed you need a bigger allowance, but under the sole condition you design a method of..saving.” Topaz’s reaction was more mild given we never further spoke about Cersus’s allowance, but the filly was about what I expected. As a fellow changeling, her emotions were murky to read, but her excited eyes flashed from me to Topaz and back to me before rushing me. “THANK YOU THANK YOU!” She screeched just loud enough to cover the buzzing of her wings. Before I could acknowledge her appreciation she had already buzzed off to tackle Topaz, knocking the mare out of her stupor.  Unable to do anything besides pat the excited filly on the back, Topaz did so carefully to avoid her buzzing wings. She turned to me, and I nodded. Nothing else was needed to be said as the filly separated herself from Topaz to bounce around the room, namely jumping on the bed.  “We?” I nodded.  “Further reflection only proved my incompetence on the matter. I may not like the bits, but that shouldn’t mean she needs to as well.”   “You’re learning, slowly, but learning.” We were watching Cersus ruin the made bed, as she continued her feverish screeching. Her excitement from the pay increase mirrored ponies I’ve met when they learned of the extra bits, and this only made me realize how pony we were becoming.  Pony life had consumed the later part of my existence while it would dominate Cersus’ life to a point she would likely forget the early years of the hive entirely. With the reveal of the hive during the wedding, perhaps that wouldn't be such a bad thing for the nymph.  A fresh start to grow unhindered. “I hope so, Topaz.”