A few hours later they came to rest next to the dockyard outside of Seaddle. The City of Seaddle for all its hometown charm and small city feel was a relatively new addition to Equestira, having been founded less than 100 years ago. Though its economy was primarily based on the thousands of trade ships to took refuge in its nearby harbor, the city had developed a quirky-but-welcoming reputation among the denizens of Equestria, which was why Shining could see griffins, a couple of buffalo, and even a thestral working the docks alongside the usual kaleidoscope of ponies. Upon landing, Shining and Barrel Roll opened the doors to find the royal car surrounded by a veritable wall of spears, wing blades, and magic barriers pointing outward, protecting the Princess.
“Got to give them credit for eagerness,” Barrel Roll muttered to Shining. “You stay here, I’ll link up with my second and make sure everything is ready shipside. After that we’ll link you with your unit and get the princess on board.”
“Uh, yeah, sounds good,” Shining said hesitantly. He'd only mostly been paying attention, trying as he was to catch Picture’s eye. Barrel Roll took off into the air like a shot, slamming the door closed with the force of his downdraft. When he was gone, Shining looked back at the princess. “Cadance? Would it be okay if I cast a privacy screen really quick? I’d like to say goodbye to Picture before we leave.”
“Oh, of course! Wait, you can do that?”
“Sure, I can. It's just another kind of shield, only it protects one's dignity rather than one's person.”
“Very well. I shall endeavor to be quiet while you ‘say goodbye’, as it were.” she said with a giggle. Shining smiled appreciatively, then his horn glowed and the entire car except the space between Picture and himself took on a faded appearance.
“There, now no one and see or hear us except you and me.” He took a breath and gave her a lascivious smile that would have made even Cadance blush if she had seen it. “Well, I guess this is it.”
“I guess it is.” Picture said quietly. She glanced at him, then down at the floor, causing his smile to fade.
“I’m going to be gone a while, you know? I just thought... we’d have a good send-off before I left.”
“Shining... I don’t...” Picture put her head in her hooves. “I don’t know how to do this...”
“Do what? What's wrong, Perfect?” Her answer didn’t come, and the longer she sat there, the more worried he grew.
“Picture? Are you alright?” She shook her head and continued staring at the floor. “Can you talk to me?” she shook her head again. “Hey Picture? You know I love you, right?” she nodded quickly. “Well, I'm about to leave for a long time....”
She looked up at him and for the first time he saw the huge tear drops in her eyes. Her eyes were red and swollen, wet trails marking her tears passage down her cheeks and forelegs. He felt his heart break at the sight, and he slowly moved over to sit to her and embraced her in a hug. No longer hidden behind her wings, she began to cry.
“Shining Armor, I love you, I do, I just... I can’t.”
“Can’t what, dear?” He held her tight to his body, as if to squeeze every last bit of pain out of her in liquid form.”
“I can’t explain my feelings. Not now, not like this.” she pointed to the saddlebag next to her. “In the pocket. There's a letter to you. I was hoping I wouldn’t have to give it to you, but... I just, I can’t...”
“It’s okay, dear. I’ll take a look. He reached over and open the pouch, finding the letter buried at the bottom of the saddlebag. He went to open it with his magic when there was a tap-tap on the door. “Sounds like Barrel is back.” he muttered. He looked at the envelope, then back at his distraught marefriend. “Is it okay if I look at this later?”
She nodded. “I’d prefer it, actually.”
“...I have to go now. Are you going to be okay?” she nodded again. Rubbing her back gently, he leaned over and whispered into her ear, “a Kiss for the road?” Without a word, she slowly turned and kissed him softly, lovingly, like she had on their first real date. Then she broke the kiss and pushed him away gently.
“Go.”
The privacy field dropped and Shining looked at Cadence by the door. She looked expectantly at the couple and did a double take when she saw Picture.
“Picture, whatever happened? Did Shining...” she scowled at her Bodyguard. “What did you say to her?”
“I'm fine, Cadance." Picture said as she wiped away the last trace of her weeping. "Shining didn’t do anything wrong. I’m just sad to lose him.”
Shining gave her a long sad look. “I’m going to miss you,” He said quietly.
“I’m going to miss you too.”
There was another knock on the door, louder and definitely more annoyed.
“I don’t think that door is going to hold much longer,” Cadance muttered. “Are you ready, Shining?”
Shining tucked the letter under his armor. “I am.”
“Good. Picture, I've instructed the carriage team to take you straight home, or anywhere else you wish to go between here and Canterlot. Don't hesitate to ask them to stop for something to eat.”
With that, she pushed open the door and stepped out into the sunlight. Shining Armor followed, turned to close the door and paused. “Goodbye, Picture.”
“Goodbye, Shining,” she replied for the final time. Then the door closed and Picture Perfect covered her face again as a single tear fell to the floor.
For all the chaos on the dockyard, the Bodyguards under Shining's command were doing a very good job of keeping the area around the carriage clear. He followed Cadance out into the protective circle and looked at his unit.
Three unicorns, three earth ponies, three pegasi, plus myself makes a full combat squad. Simple enough.
“Princess Cadance-" he looked up to see Barrel Roll hovering above them, "-your stateroom is ready to receive you. With your permission, we’ll move you onboard the Ambassador.”
Cadance nodded and looked to Shining. “I’ll follow your lead, Lieutenant Armor.”
Shining Armor turned to issue an order to his second in command, only to pause and realize with embarrassment that he didn’t know which of his squad was his second. He looked up at Barrel Roll again, who pointed out one of the earth ponies. The earth pony, whose coat was of deep hue of red with a brown mane gave a practiced salute as Shining approached.
“Ready to move on your orders, Lieutenant,” the pony said, his voice husky. He was older then Shining and ever so slightly taller than him. Shining returned the salute, then looked him up and down.
“The Princess is ready, Sergeant... er...”
“Wall, sir. Stone Wall.”
“Sergeant Wall. It’s pretty chaotic out there, so let's set up an Osprey perimeter at two paces and get Princess Cadance aboard.”
“Sir, Yes Sir!” Sergeant Wall glanced at the carriage, specifically the obscene amount of luggage crammed into the rear compartment. “Will we be hauling any other items with us, Sir?" he asked uncertainly.
Shining Armor shook his head. “There's nothing as valuable as the Princess in those suitcases, and in any rate, they’ll need one of the cargo cranes to get everything onboard in a timely manner.”
Cadance frowned. “I’ll have you know, Lieutenant, that everything in those suitcases is absolutely crucial to my mission.”
“Far from me to suggest otherwise, your Highness. I'm certain that absolutely nothing in them would be considered frivolous by anypony here.”
Cadance glared daggers at him. “Just do your job.”
Shining Armor produced a whistle from his pocket and blew a few sharp notes. The unit circled around Cadance, Earth ponies in front to clear the way by bellowing at the dockworkers and physically move them if necessary, followed by the four unicorns and trailed by the pegasi, their wings outstretched to provide cover for Cadance from behind. Even with the Earth Ponies clearing their path, it still took almost 20 minutes to get Cadance safely below deck. With the princess on board, it was just a matter of waiting for the last pieces of luggage and cargo to be stowed, then the Ambassador weighed anchor and set sail for Roam.
After leaving the harbor, Shining Armor dismissed his unit to allow them to set up their bunks and made his way to his own personal room aboard the ship, called a stateroom. Normally, as a newly minted officer Shining would be quartered in the Officer Quarters in the stern of the ship, but as Chief Bodyguard to the princess, special accommodations had been made to allow him to bunk midship in one of the small rooms next to Cadance’s. Setting down his saddlebags, he dumped the contents unceremoniously into a huge pile on the bed and began to rummage through them, then paused when he heard a knock on his door. “Come in.”
Barrel Roll opened the door, a sly smile on his face. “Not too bad,” he mused, looking around the room. “Pretty pitiful compared to my room, but at least you’re close to the bathrooms.”
“I believe that’s for Cadance’s benefit, not mine.” Shining grinned, “she may be a princess, but she still has a bladder the size of a pea.”
“If that’s the tradeoff for immortality, then sign me up. So what if I have to visit the bathroom every hour? I’ve got time.”
Cadance poked her head around the doorframe. “Trust me, Immortality is a lot less appealing when you feel like you spend a quarter of your life in the ladies room.”
“And yet you manage.”
She huffed and looked at the pile on Shining’s bed. “Nothing that anypony would consider frivolous in that mess I hope?"
“I’ll have you know when I’m done this room will be immaculate, Cadance. It's all a part of the process.”
"I'll believe it when I see it. Regardless, would you both care to join me for dinner? I think they’re serving Hayburgers on rye buns tonight.”
“They’re serving heyburgers to you, your royal-ness.” Barrel Roll said. “We’re eating in the mess with the rest of the guards. I promise you they won’t be serving us hayburgars.”
“I don’t know, I could really go for a hayburger,” Shining mused aloud. His stomach weighed in with a low growl, and he realized that he hadn’t eaten anything all day. “Great, now you got me thinking about food.” He reached into his pile and pulled out a granola bar, peeled off the paper and ate the whole thing in one bite.
Cadance raised an eyebrow. “Is that how you always eat? Inhaling your food like you haven’t eaten in weeks?”
“I’m in the Royal Guard. Is there any other way to eat?”
She pursed her lips, then nodded. “Alright then. If that’s the way you're going to be, we’ll start your lessons with table manners.”
Shining’s eyes bugged out as the granola suddenly caught in his throat. He coughed as he choked it the rest of the way down. “Lessons? What lessons?”
“Your etiquette lessons, of course. We can’t have you embarrassing Celestia or I at a function. You need proper training on how to handle yourself around high society types.”
Shining shook his head. “There must be some misunderstanding. I’m just the bodyguard, I don’t do interaction or chit-chat with the big-wigs. That's your job.”
“Ah, but that’s where your wrong, Shining. Celesita has taken pride for literally centuries about having the classiest guards on the continent at all her parties. I’m not about to ruin that because you can’t chew your food properly.” She gave him a grin that was just a little too wide for comfort. “And since we only have a few weeks, you’d better be fast on the uptake. You wouldn’t want to start a war because you insulted the host by picking up the wrong fork, now would you?”
“That’s not a real thing, Cadance,” Shining deadpanned.
“How would you know?” She quipped. He opened his mouth to say something clever, only to close it again without saying anything. “Tomorrow, forecastle deck at 3:00 and not a minute later.” Her tone made it clear attendance was mandatory. When she had left, Shining looked at Barrel Roll.
“That’s not a real thing, right?”
His closest friend just shrugged. “I guess you’re going to find out.”
The mess hall was the single largest room on the Ambassador, capable of comfortably seating hundreds of ponies. Right now, it was serving the guards who were under the command of Barrel Roll to serve as the garrison for the new Embassy in Roam, as well as the nine Bodyguards under Shining's command. The two lieutenants stood inside the door to the mess, taking in the organized chaos and getting a feel for the attitude of the soldiers under their command. The guards as a whole gave off a lack of concern that was palpable. Whatever they were thinking individually, at least for the moment they had confidence that the mission was bound to be successful, or at least not particularly dangerous.
One of the guards closest to the commanders stood from their seat and made eye contact with Barrel Roll. She immediately came to attention and saluted them. “Commander on Deck!” In a single fluid motion, the ponies of the guard stood and turned to face the door way, saluting their superior officers.
“I think we’ve been noticed,” Shining Armor chuckled.
Barrel Roll smiled as he returned the salute. “At Ease." There was a rustle as the guards dropped the salute and adjusted their stance to stand more comfortably. “As you all know, I am Lieutenant Barrel Roll, commander of military forces for this mission. I’d like to introduce to my co-commander Lieutenant Shining Armor, head of the Princess’s personal bodyguard unit.” There was a rowdy ‘Woop!’ as several of the bodyguards reminded their comrades of their attendance. “While I am the operational commander, you are to follow any orders he may give so long as they do not countermand my own.” He placed a hoof on Shining’s shoulder. “What’s more, you are to follow any orders that he may give in regards to security even if it goes against your orders. Don't worry about being reprimanded, we’ll sort out the details afterwards.” He turned to Shining Armor with a mischievous expression. “Now, what many of you are not aware of is that Lieutenant Shining Armor and I are like brothers, have been since we were colts.” His grin grew wider as Shining’s cheeks took on a tinge of pink. “And like any good brother, I like to brag about him when and where I can to anypony who will listen, so I thought I'd take advantage of my captive audience to tell you a little bit about your new Lieutenant.” Shining Armor gave his friend a pleading look that Barrel Roll ignored.
“For instance, many of you probably heard about the incident years ago where a young colt blocked an enraged noble from attacking Princess Celestia herself. That colt is none other than the Lieutenant.” Admiring eyes swung to look at Shining Armor, taking in the new information. “That was the day he earned his cutie mark. From there he went on to graduate as second in his V.I.P protection class and won high marks in the officer academy, earning the attention of the Princesses themselves. Perhaps most impressive, however, is that Lieutenant Armor is a talented battlemage and holds the unique honor of being the greatest Shield Caster in Equestrian history, nearly equaling Princess Celestia herself.”
That set the crowd of guards abuzz. Every pony know that Celestia was an immensely powerful magician in her own right, having studied magic and expanded on her power for millennia. For anyone to come close in any regard was remarkable.
Shining Armor’s face was beat red with embarrassment. He’d always hated being the center of attention, and now Barrel Roll was putting him on display in front of the whole unit. He knew what his friend was doing, talking him up to stave off questions about his fitness to command, seeing how he’d jumped several ranks overnight. It hadn't escaped his attention that almost every guard in the mess was visibly older then both Barrel Roll and himself, and unlike his friend, he hadn't had months of leading these ponies to win them over. By expounding on his accomplishments, Barrel Roll was trying to smooth over any bubbling resentment among the ranks that much more experienced guards had been passed over to allow for his promotion. It still left him feeling awkward as everyone sized him up, modifying their initial opinions of him with the new information.
“And if all that wasn't enough to shame you lazy sods, he has a hot fillyfriend to boot! How he can balance all of that and still find time to please a mare I'll never understand.”
“Some of us can please several at once you know!” One of the stallions hollered.
Shining gave a sly smile. “30 seconds is not sufficient to please anypony.” The crowd laughed and cheered as the outspoken stallion slunk down into his seat.
Barrel Roll spotted the corner of Picture’s note sticking out of Shining’s chest piece where he’d tucked it earlier and his eyes gleamed. “Speaking of pleasure, I think I spy a love note from his filly friend tucked away from later. Glad I’m not bunking with him tonight!”
The crowd laughed again while a few of the bawdy members blew wolf whistles. “Read it!” someone cried.
“Read it here!” a chorus of agreement flowed through the soldiery as dozens of ponies cheered him on. Shining Flushed once again with embarrassment, the pressure from the crowd building in his chest, giving him a strange high and bending his will to their desire. Barrel Roll had raised his hoof above his head, trying to reestablish control of the crowd when Shining pulled it back down.
“What the buck, why not. Who wants to read this with me?!” Shining cried out. The room erupted with cheers once again as Barrel Roll gave his friend a concerned look.
“Shiny...” he whispered “I don’t think Picture would appreciate -”
“What Picture doesn't know won't hurt her,” Shining whispered back, “besides, it’s Picture, how bad could it be?”
Opening the envelop, he unfolded the script and found the top of the page. “Alright, here we go! Dear Shining, I’m sorry you had to find out like this, but if you're reading this, you already know something is up. I’m done, Shining. I’m done pretending I’m okay with us, with your work...” he trailed off as he read through the rest the letter to himself, his heart sinking lower and lower with every word. When he was finished, he stared at the page, unable to process what he had read.
It wasn’t until someone coughed that Shining realized he was still standing in the mess. The room was quiet enough to hear a pin drop, everyone looking at him with expressions as awkward and uncomfortable as he felt in that moment. He stiffened, calmly folded the letter and tucked it back into his armor. “As you were,” he said in the best command voice he could muster, then turned and walked out the door without waiting for it to be acknowledged. As soon as he thought no one could see him, he began to sprint back to his room, the tears starting to fall as he ran.
In the mess, everyone continued to stare at the door after he left. Barrel Roll, taken aback by Shining’s sudden departure, looked at the guards and repeated the order. “You heard the Lieutenant. As you were!” There was a flurry of movement as everyone in the room scrambled to focus on anything that wasn’t the hallway where Shining had bolted.
Shining sat on the floor by to his bed pulled out the letter form Picture. Wiping his eyes dry, he read it once again.
Dear Shining,
I’m sorry you had to find out like this, but if you're reading this, you already know something is up. I’m done, Shining. I’m done pretending I’m okay with us, with your work. I’m done sitting by myself on a ‘date’ waiting for a coltfriend that has been called away on an emergency. Now, once again you’ve been spirited away without warning, gone for Celestia knows how long. I’m done wondering every time we say goodbye if I'll ever see you alive again. I can’t live like this for the rest of my life.
Yesterday, the cute stallion in the store across the street asked if I was single, and I told him I was, because you and me aren't a couple anymore. We haven’t really been for months, and I think you know that. You certainly don’t act like it, leaving without telling me where you are going or when you get back, hiding the details of your missions from me. We promised not to keep secrets from each other, but you’ve never been honest about the danger being in the guard has put you in.
I wrote this to tell you I’m not going to wait for you. I’ve been waiting since you graduated the military academy for something to change, and I finally realized that it’s not going to get better. You’re a military stallion through and through, Shining, and I don’t want that life, so I’m setting you free.
Don't bother looking me up when you get back. I’m moving to Manehatten in a few months to enroll in the film school there. I hope you and Barrel Roll can forgive me for leaving like this, but I don’t think I can face the two of you and the Princess. Knowing her, she’d do everything in her power to keep us together, and I'm afraid she might succeed. I’m not going to risk it. I do hope you find somepony who loves you enough to wait for you, it just can't be me.
With a heavy heart,
Picture
A knock at the door startled him out of his trance. As the letter fell to floor he looked up and saw Barrel Roll standing in his door frame, a package under his wing. Shining grunted an acknowledgement, not trusting his voice to speak. Barrel Roll sat next to his friend and slid the letter over to read its contents, his crest falling as he got to the end of the letter. He put a hoof on Shining's shoulder “I'm sorry, bro.” Shining just shook his head slightly, tears beginning to fall once again as Barrel Roll unwrapped his package, revealing a full bottle of liquor. “I was saving this for when we got to Roam to remind us of home,” he said softly “Then I figured maybe you wanted to forget home for a little while instead.”
“I don’t understand, Barrel,” Shining said through the tears, “Can it really be over, just like that?”
Barrel Roll draped his wing over Shining Armor’s shoulders and offered him the bottle. “I don’t know, Shiny. Maybe she’ll come to her senses.”
Shining took a sip out of the bottle and coughed. “Buck, that’s strong.”
“I got it ‘cause it would remind us of home, not because it went down easy.”
The two of them sat on the floor long into the night talking and drinking till the bottle ran dry, then both gave in to their pain and began to cry; Shining for his lost love and Barrel Roll for his brother until at last they could weep no more. Then and only then did they surrender to their exhaustion and fall into a dreamless sleep.