Chapter 30
Antony’s horn began to glow as soon as he set the small marble cube next to his feet. Two stacks of paper to the right of the small stone slab were surrounded bu a light lavender aura and floated off of the short table. One stack floated over to me, while the other stack floated over to Antony. The stack that was in front of me separated into nine different smaller stacks and were showed to me. They just sat there, hovering in front of me, so I decided to read the middle sheaf.
Joint report by fifth and fifteenth companies, respectively.
The cliff on which Canterlot and the palace are situated has become unstable after the battle of the Dragon. Many of the citizens of Canterlot have been evacuated to nearby cities or have been lodged with relatives until the portion of rock removed from the face can be returned to its original position. The estimated time for this project is three weeks, barring interruptions and other unforeseen circumstances. The public brief cites political extremists wishing a change of government in the palace. We would suggest-
I could not read the rest of the report because another piece of paper was placed in front of it. It was a hastily written note.
Edwin-
I am holding these reports for you because Princess Celestia and I have decided that it is to our advantage if as few ponies as possible know that you are more than you appear. Try not to do anything that an earth pony would not do, eg., flying, picking things up with magic, lightning. Try to look as serious as possible. There are some ponies with every long memories and it would be a bad choice to offend them by looking bored.
P.S. You don’t really need to read any of these reports, it’s only your first meeting.
I reached up to push the note away, and it fluttered away from me. I tried to read the other reports because I was actually interested in most of them. They talked about everything that could possibly be going on in the palace, from vegetable shipments to possible spies. My eye caught one that was entirely about sugar prices per pound in Canterlot markets compared to other cities. It made me laugh a little. Suddenly, the papers all turned so that they were facing the ceiling instead of me, and floated back into one pile. It was joined by Antony’s stack of papers and they both floated back onto the table in front of us. Antony raised a hoof to clear his throat.
“Reports of the Rear guard companies in sequential order.” He declaimed. A small brown pony at about the middle of the table wearing silvery armor stood. He raised a hoof to touch a lone piece of paper in front of him. He peered down at it questioningly.
“Report of Lieutenant Flick on behalf of First rear. The Princesses are travelling to Salt Lick City later this week to attend a funeral of a prominent scholar, and they have requested the forward third airborne and Captain Shell to accompany them. They plan on travelling ahead of time by wing but intend on leaving a false trail that they will travel by train. When they arrive-” Lieutenant Flick rambled on for a while about the ins and outs of the Princesses arrive and all the places they plan on going to, all of everything that could possibly happen, contingency plans, etc. It was extremely boring. I tried my best to keep up appearances and appear interested, and was pleased to find out that I would be making a trip to another city. I hadn’t seen new ponies in a while, and I was happy to know that I would be seeing more. Sometimes I forgot that I was a pony, and during those times I found the shapes and colors of these alien beings fascinating, even if it was only for a moment. I sighed happily. The report from the second company passed quickly, followed by the third, fourth, and fifth. The sixth company report was the one about the sugar prices. I smiled when I heard the big maroon colt talk in the most serious air about rising sugar and confectionery prices. Then followed the report by the next few companies, and then it was time for the fifteenth company to finally give their report. Lieutenant Drizzle stood up. She did not have any papers or reference materials that she was preparing or shuffling into order, which was odd. Every other Lieutenant had some kind of notes. Drizzle coughed, and then began to speak
“On behalf of the Fifteenth rear I opt out of presenting my report in public due to the sensitive information it contains. I will deliver it in private, Captain Bladesinger.” She said, and then sat down. The Lieutenants all started talking to each other at her statement, gesturing to embellish their comments. Antony lifted the marble cube and slammed it into the flat stone rectangle. All of the ponies immediately stopped talking and stared at Antony. He stood up and placed his hooves on the edge of the table.
“I will have order. Another outburst and I will adjourn this meeting immediately.” He said, his voice filled with overpowering authority. He paused and allowed this statement to settle amongst the ponies. After a moment or so, Antony got down from the edge of the table.
“I give Captain Shell the floor.” Antony said, and passed me a small piece of paper. I looked at it, and I could see that they were instructions.
“Reports of the... Forward guard companies in sequential order.” I said. A large green pony stood up. I had to look at him a second time because I could not believe how big he was.
“Lieutenant Ryo of the Forward first.” The green pony grumbled, his voice like gravel. I was slightly worried for the small mare sitting next to him. His gravelly voice was so intimidating that I could barely pay attention to what he was saying. When he was done, a small purplish-pink mare next to him stood. She was a unicorn, and I couldn’t see her cutie mark very well. I looked closer and I could see that she was the only pony in the room wearing a jet black scarf
“Lieutenant Pix of the Forward second.” She said in a high, lilting voice. She then went on to describe information that various guards have collected stationed all around Equestria. The realization dawned on me that the forward Second was the company that was in charge of espionage. I mulled this over in my head and listened intently to what she had to say. According to her information, if it was anything to go on, the ponies in Cloudsdale were the most affected by Angelics. She of course did not refer to it outright, but skirted around that conclusion, as if she did not know what Angelics were. I thought about it, and decided that that could be a very real possibility. She said that many ponies were not following regular routines, many ponies had quit their jobs recently, many ponies were acting strangely, many ponies had lapses in memory. She attributed these symptoms to a mysterious illness. I interrupted her.
“Have any of the guards stationed in Cloudsdale suffered similar... Symptoms?” I inquired. She paused for a second.
“To my knowledge there is only one.” She said.
“I would like to see the pegasus in question. Come see me after the meeting.” I said. She nodded, and then hesitated to begin her report again. I waved a hoof for her to continue. The rest of the report was a quick summary of events in the other large Equestrian cities. She was done, and then she sat back down. Soarin was next in line, but he paused a moment while he got his papers into order. It was a sizable pile of documents, but I had the feeling that he was not going to use them much. He stood.
“Second lieutenant Soarin of the Forward third. Lieutenant Dash has requested a personal day.” He started, placing a hoof down on his notes.
“Our company was an active combatant along with the forward ninth during the battle of the Dragon. I cannot speak for Ninth company, but the Third suffered no casualties. Only one pony was wounded. Ensign Breckan was scraped up and had a very sore throat from screaming too loudly.” He concluded, much to the amusement of the other guards. He tilted his head and screwed up his face, like he was thinking of something. It almost seemed as if something pained him, and he was reluctant to speak it.
“We have also suffered the loss of Second Lieutenant Spitfire, who has not appeared to her station or her shift today. Furthermore, as of last night, she was under armed guard to remain in her quarters by order of Captain Bladesinger. My sources inform me that she was to be kept there until released by a ranking officer. Captain Bladesinger, to my knowledge, never did find Spitfire in her quarters, but four of his most talented unicorns unconscious lying next to the splintered remains of the door. Those of you that know Second Lieutenant Spitfire personally know that she does not have the physical strength to do something like this.” Soarin reasoned aloud, looking around at the ponies. His statement was met my soft murmurs and nods.
“I have nothing left to say, so I will surrender the floor to the next report.” Soarin said, and then sat. His report was the shortest, but he said the most with his words. He sewed seeds of doubt in the room, which was his revenge for me not answering his question properly. The next Lieutenant stood, gave his report, and sat down. This happened twelve more times with absolutely no fanfare. The remaining ponies talked about the battle of thee Dragon, mostly. The fifth and fifteenth companies did their report together, talking about their reconstruction efforts in regard to the cliff. They had an entire team of ponies trying to find a spell that could attach rock to rock, and they had another team of unicorns whose job it was just to pick up heavy rocks. I found it to be rather interesting. Once the ponies were all seated and their reports were done, Antony stood to speak.
“I will not be flip and say that the past few weeks have been calm. The past few weeks have in fact been the most dangerous, at least for me. We have had a group of unknown purpose and motive target the Royal sisters, and we have done our best to thwart them. Captain Shell,” Antony gestured to me “Has in fact earned his mantle by protecting the Princesses with his nearly dying breath. I have made my own sacrifices in the past weeks, as have all of you. But I hope that all of you will continue to do such in future, as you have done countless times when our palace is under threat of attack. I now open the floor to questions and concerns. Stand to be recognized.” Antony said, and then sat down. There was a moment’s hesitation, and then one of the rear Lieutenants stood. He was the Lieutenant of the Sixth, the gigantic maroon colt.
“Captain Shell, I wish to make an inquiry of you.” He said. I nodded.
“How long have you been a Guard?” He inquired. I sniffled.
“A few days.” I answered. The Guards around him seemed to find this outrageous, and displayed their emotions openly.
“And you have been a Captain for... How much of this time?” He asked.
“All of it.” I said. The ponies around the colt again found this outrageous, and whispered comments to each other. The Lieutenant smiled just a smidge.
“Those are all the questions I have, Captain.” He said. He sat, and many of the ponies around him pestered him to answer their questions. He waved them off with a large maroon hoof, and they immediately fell silent. I could see how the ponies around the nameless Lieutenant respected him. I smiled, and then Lieutenant Ryo stood.
“Captain Shell, I also have a question for you, if you would like to answer it.” The Lieutenant said in his gravelly voice.
“We won’t know unless you ask it.” I replied. Ryo made an amused sigh.
“Captain Shell, The question I am about to ask is in the minds of many officers in this room, as well as in my own. You seem to be an... Earth pony, am I correct?”
“Yes, I am.”
“And you have only been a guard for the past few days, am I correct?” Ryo queried.
“Two for two.”
“Then, the question becomes apparent. What exactly are your qualifications for being a Guard of such a high rank?” He asked. I sniffled again, smelling something odd.
“Are Earth ponies barred from holding such an office?” I asked.
“No, but to my knowledge, not a single Earth pony has ever held that office in the entire illustrious history of the Royal Guard.” Ryo explained with a certain diminutive bearing in his voice.
“What are you saying, Ryo?” I asked, leaning forward from my seat.
“I am saying that you have no business sitting where you do, wearing that helm. I call that you be removed from your station and stripped of your title, rank, and all accompanying privilges.” Ryo said, and all of the ponies around him started talking amongst themselves, decrying how shocking it was that such a pony could hold such an office without question for so long, and how one pony had finally questioned it. Antony nudged the marble cube over to me, but I pushed it back to him, content with waiting for the babble to subside. It didn’t. The whispers and hushed comments soon escalated into a full blown altrication, with insults and accusations hurled like stones to either side of the room. It was my opinion that the only thing keeping them from strangling each other was the table that kept them physically separated. One pony was actually about to throw a heavy scroll of parchment at particularly impassioned pony on the other side of the room when I found that the argument had to stop. I stood and calmly walked up to the flat stone on it, and waited for a moment. I suddenly felt angry, and raised a hoof. I slammed it onto the stone, shattering it with a loud report. The creaking and squealing of the breaking stone snapped everypony out of their rage. They all turned to stare at me. I was almost snarling by the time I could say what I had to say without screaming at everything
“I will have order!” I shouted. The ponies seemed to make a collective gulp.
“Lieutenant Ryo, if what’s who you actually are, are you done casting your aspersions?” I snarled. Ryo made an amused harrumph.
“I think that you have sufficiently proved you ‘claim to fame’, Captain. I have no quarrel with you.” He said, gesturing to the shattered rock under my hoof.
“But I have one with you.” I replied, calming myself. Ryo raised his eyebrows, but said nothing. I walked up to the table, and jumped onto it. Apparently this was something that nopony was expecting, because it drew many shocked gasps.
“Lieutenant Ryo, I accuse you of treason and impersonating an officer of the Royal Guard. What is your plea?” I asked. Lieutenant Ryo scoffed.
“Such a preposterous claim! I’ve been an officer in the Guard for nearly ten years! What evidence could you possibly have for such a claim?!” He nearly shouted.
“I can smell you.” I said. He immediately grew pale.
“What?” He said, his strong gravelly voice warbling.
“You smell familiar.” I said, walking closer to Lieutenant Ryo. Lieutenant Pix and Soarin looked slightly afraid. I felt the cool armor move with me, like a seamless extension of myself. I liked it. I rounded on Lieutenant Ryo, getting up to his face. I took a big whiff of him.
“I know you.” I whispered. Lieutenant Ryo shivered, and he broke into a sweat. I crouched so I could make eye contact with me. He avoided my gaze.
“Tell us who you are, Ryo.” I said aloud, making Ryo jump.
“L-Lieutenant Ryo of the-” I stopped his lie by grabbing his throat. I pulled him up from his seat, but not so high that he would choke.
“Tell us who you are!” I said.
“I-”
“Why don’t you show us what that pretty little make looks like, Lieutenant Ryo?” I sneered. Ryo gulped.
“Unhand him, Captain Shell! You simply cannot treat subordinates like this because they say something you do not like!” Antony shouted from the front of the room. I turned to look at him.
“Don’t interfere.” I growled, and he sat down meekly.I turned back to Ryo, who immediately looked away from me. I leaned in to place my mouth next to his ear
“Show us your mane, Ryo.” I whispered. He shuddered, and I could feel the magic pour out of Ryo. All of the ponies in the room made a collective gasp, and I felt immensely satisfied. I pulled away from Ryo to see the flowing jet black tresses flowing down his body, where only seconds earlier there was a short militaristic buzz.
“Never impersonate one of my officers again.” I whispered. Ryo shivered, and I took a step back and threw him against the wall. I could see every single inch of his trajectory, every single mote of dust flowing around him. He collided with the wall, exploding with a cloud of green dust. I coughed, along with all of the other ponies in the room, waving away the green dust with my hooves. The dust cleared, and I was treated to a white mare with long flowing black hair lying on the ground. I walked up to her and crouched down to talk to her. I waited until she looked at me with her large, electrifying green eyes.
“Never impersonate one of my guards again, Sebastian. Where did you hide Ryo?” I growled through my teeth. Sebastian gulped, and closed her eyes. She immediately disappeared with a small pop. I frowned, and then sighed.
“Captain Shell?” Antony asked, and then coughed.
“Yes, Captain Bladesinger?” I replied.
“If you could come up and explain what the bloody hell just happened, I think that everypony would appreciate it.”