Chapter Twenty-Five
"Pardon the mess," Flash said embarrassedly as he opened the door to his office. "This was another pony's office until recently, and we're still renovating it to fit my needs better."
Sergeant Nightingale snorted. "I'm sure I've seen worse," she said. "What happened to the last occupant?"
"Killed in action," Flash said quietly.
The sergeant stopped. "Oh," she said just as quietly.
Flash nodded. "The building he was in burned down," he said as he let her in, then shut the door behind them. "One of the crooks we were chasing that night decided that he'd rather die and take as many of us as he could with him rather than go to jail. Captain Hackpole made sure the rest of us got out, but he and the crook were still inside when the roof fell in." He sighed. "Anyway, I got promoted to fill his spot."
The other pegasus nodded, and Flash watched as she settled into the same seat her Director had taken earlier. When Princess Celestia had given her orders not too long ago, he'd done as she'd asked, giving the Lunarian guards what they requested. And that included a private talk between he and their ranking officer. She had been very nice and understanding, and actually willing to work with him, which was a nice change of pace from some of the others he'd had to deal with. Police chief captain Meadow Wishes was very condescending to him, treating him if he was one of her subordinates when they were pretty much equal in rank, if he was not actually higher than her. It didn't help that she always had Blueblood around when they met and the other stallion managed to always browbeat him into agreeing with what they wanted.
"You seem to be doing a good job with it so far," Nightingale said with Flash snorting and shaking his head. She glared at him, though her eyes didn't have any true malice to them. "No, I mean it. You managed to keep the situation between our leaders stable without anypony getting hurt. Director Plate has been rather impressed with what he's seen of you so far and so am I." She flashed him a smile. "You just need more confidence in yourself; maybe you could take some of your more senior guards out with you on a patrol or mission to get to know them better and grow a better relationship."
"That does sound like a good idea," Flash said, rubbing his chin with his wing. "I really do want this office changed around; too much of the previous captain, right?"
"Yeah," she said with a giggle and a smile on her face. "It's going to look like you're sitting in his chair in his office opposed to your own chair in your own office."
Flash nodded. "That's on my list of things that still need doing," he said. "Along with having somepony finish going over his desk before I get a replacement - need something better suited for a pegasus instead of a unicorn. The guy was justifiably paranoid, and I still haven't been able to find everything he hid in there." He rubbed the back of his head with one wing. "Princess Celestia and Sunset have both already done what they can, but they've got a lot of other stuff to do too."
"You know, one of my fellow sergeants loves unicorn puzzles; super good at them," she said, walking closer enough to Flash that he could smell her shampoo and he began to get an inkling that she had another reason to meet up with him. "I could ask him to check it out for you, if you'd like..."
"I think I'd like that, Nightingale," Flash, smiling back at her and doing his best not to freak out that there was a mare actually interested in him with such a hot accent. "Though perhaps I can show you mo-" He frowned as Zephyr ran into the office, the thestral panting a bit. "Zephyr, what's wrong?" he asked, feeling a stab of dread.
"It's Captain Meadow, she's approaching the castle with a large amount of ponies and..." the thestral gulped and stared pleading at him. "It looks really bad sir."
The stab of dread grew but Flash did his best to force it down. "Bring a squad of unicorns to the front gate; I am going to see what is going on," he said, trying to speak with his best captain's voice but he could have sworn his voice quivered a bit. His eyes flicked towards the sergeant next to him, who was already speaking into her communication device. "Sergeant?" he asked, looking at her.
"With your permission, I would like to assist you with my squad," she said, speaking with more authority than he could have ever mustered. "We have our rifles on the minimum energy output; it will only sting really badly but cause no lasting injuries."
"Hopefully it will not come to that," Flash said, grabbing his helmet and spear as he walked out of his office towards the front gate, with Zephyr dashing off in the other direction to gather more guards. "But stand by just in case, I'd definitely appreciate the help."
"Understood Captain," she said in a proper officer's voice, though she did flash him a quick smile which did wonders to boost his confidence as they made their way to the front gate with more and more Royal Guards falling in line behind him and the Lunar ponies moving to the front of the group.
Bracing himself, Flash waved for the guards holding the door to part for him as he stepped outside and for a moment, he was at a loss for words.
Captain Meadow was in her full police uniform with a row of the most senior unicorn police officers flanking her but behind them was a massive mob of unruly looking ponies. They had a variety of weapons on them, some of them simple as poles but he could spot a few crossbows and halberds among them. But what really worried him was how angry they all looked and for whatever reason, seeing them hold the Equestrian flag made him feel uneasy.
Taking a moment to steady himself, he did his best to glare Captain Meadow down and present an aura of control. "Captain Meadow, what is the meaning of this?" he shouted at her, with her group stopping just a short distance away from him.
"Flash, step down and let us do what the Royal Guards are unable to do," she said in a stern voice with the mob behind her jeering and shouting at him. "On behalf of Equestria, we are here to rescue Princess Celestia from the corruptive magic of those accursed traitors from the moon. As my right as the only true figure of authority here, I am taking command of the Royal Guards and I am ordering you all to let us pass and save Equestria from them," she snarled, lowering her horn towards Sergeant Nightingale.
"Are you out of your mind Captain Meadow?" Flash snapped back, tightening his hold on his spear. "The Lunar Republic has done nothing to Princess Celestia; you will stand down and explain yourself before a judge. All of your... whatever they are will disperse now. This is private property and -"
"We are not here to play games, Flash," Meadow snapped, striding closer to him. "Royal Guards, as your acting captain, I order you to arrest Flash for insubordination and these criminals for actions against our beloved Princess or you will be tried for disobeying orders and possibly treason."
"You are out of line, Captain Meadow," Flash snapped back, walking towards her. "Stand down now before things get any further out of ho-" he didn't get a chance to finish that as a bottle smashed near his hooves. Flying backwards to his guards, he saw that Meadow was waving her mob closer to the front gate, with the citizens clearly about to charge.
Just before they could, there was a pop of teleportation magic and there was the Princess, standing before them and she looked angry.
"What is the meaning of this," Princess Celestia demanded, her horn glowing as a shield formed around the mob, preventing them from escaping. "Explain yourself, Captain Meadow."
"It is for your own good, your majesty," the mare said, walking closer to the Princess with Flash growling in anger and gripping his spear tighter. "We can help you overcome the vile magic those murderers in the moon have done to you. Just come with us. As acting captain of your guards, I can protect you and see proper justice is done once and for all, starting with their blood crazy leader!"
"Captain Meadow, I am personally placing you under arrest," Celestia in a furious tone, her horn glowing as a pair of cuffs appeared before the unicorn. "And your mo-" before she could even finish, Meadow threw out a chain of iron around the Princess's horn and instantly, the golden shield and magic winked out. Princess Celestia gasped as Meadow tried to pull her towards her and that was when Flash suddenly found himself in front of the Princess with his spear lodged into Meadow's chest with Nightingale by his side, firing at the rushing mob of ponies that were trying to get to the Princess.
And the battle of Canterlot Castle began.